Building Sandcastles
by theSoundofLiterature
Summary: The first time that Quinn Fabray attends Pinewood Camp For Girls in Southern Maine, it is completely against her will. It's not her fault that during her very first summer - she'll meet the very girl that will undoubtedly be her complete undoing.
1. Chapter 1

**INTERLUDES [2032]**

"_The tide brings the ebb, it washes through the deep._

_Like a sweet lovers caress, of whose kiss I do grow weak…"_

* * *

Rachel stands back, admiring the far wall. The paint is cracked and over-layered with sharpie in some places. However, when she brings her small finger up to trace the markings, she can still feel her name etched into the wood.

_Rachel Barbra Berry '07-'12 GREEN TEAM CAPTAIN '10!_

It rests directly under _Carrie Anderson '78-'83_, which has been unceremoniously covered by another _Larissa Dudley-Moore '26-'31_. Her lettering laying firm claim over a wall that was never hers to begin with. But neither was it Rachel's. The brunette woman smiles at her small victory. A name means so much more than we know. And as her fingers traipse the dusty wall, they fall down across the grooves. And that's when she sees it, almost a foot below her own, resting in fading silver ink. The scrawl is familiar, and that's only because she knows it almost as well as her own.

_Quinn Fabray '07-'10, '12. Tan Team Capt. 2010!_

She smiles at what the two of them have left here, in this place. She takes a deep sigh, stepping away from the wall to look across the empty cabin and the ring of wooden beds surrounding her. Some hold stuffed animals and pillows; others are simple with a few photos framed around their wooden stands. Rachel doesn't recognize any of the faces, but the familiarity is soothing nonetheless. A cell phone rings in the distance, and the brunette is quite suddenly pulled out of her small reverie. She composes herself only slightly, her body turning when she sees an unfamiliar face cornering the bend, approaching from a nearby bed.

"Oh! I didn't know anyone was here!" The young woman is shocked to see an unfamiliar face, eyes wide and calculating. It takes a moment, but then she pales when she takes notice of just _who_ it is that has intruded on the small space of the cabin. Her shock fades, only to be replaced by speechlessness.

"Oh my God! You're Rachel Berry! Ho-ly Shit!" The brunette laughs and nods, pulling an arm up to cover her blushing face as she settles. The girl across from her has her mouth hanging open in a wide gape. She quickly recovers, moving to make an appropriate greeting in her haste.

"I'm Natalie Fisherman, wow…it's like such an honor to meet you. You're so much shorter in person."

"You'd be surprised how often I _don't_ hear that. It's nice to meet you Natalie. I'm Rachel, which you have obviously surmised." Her smile is wide and welcoming, she can tell that her presence alone is making the younger girl tremble in shock, and she hopes that her tone comes off as re-assuring.

"Are you a counselor here?"

The younger girl nods her head, grabbing her cell phone off of her bed where it had moments ago been left to ring. She has on denim shorts and a tank top. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail on her head, the dirty blonde wisps falling out to frame her face loosely. Rachel can almost count the girls freckles…she looks no older than seventeen.

"You're old enough to be a counselor?" Natalie nods, her shock disappearing by way of a jovial laugh. She pockets her cell phone into her jeans and scratches at the back of her ear.

"I'll be eighteen in September. They don't usually hire counselors my age. But I'm an ex-camper, and I was a CIT last summer so it worked out. A couple of the girls from my cabin are counselors this year with me."

"Ah…so what team are you?" Rachel can't help the wide smile that crosses her face as she looks to the younger girl. She also doesn't miss the matching one that mirrors her own. Once a team member, always a team member, the loyalty is almost as thick as blood.

"Tan." Rachel laughs…_of course._

"Captain? Bench?"

"Co-Captain 2030 actually. And I was a song-leader in both '28 and '29." Natalie is smiling now, the awkwardness of earlier wearing off into a shared nostalgia.

"Congratulations, Captaincy is a big honor."

"Thank you…of course you would know. I've already seen your name on all of the plaques in the dining hall. _Rachel Berry - Green Team Captain 2011_, it was always a dream of mine to have my name up there on the Captains plaque underneath yours. Too bad you aren't a Tan though, you look like one."

"Green through and through." Rachel beams. Natalie nods and smiles, abruptly turning her head to the side when she hears the faint whispering of a nearing voice, Rachel follows the approaching cadence with a smile toying at her lips. Her eyes glance back to the signatures on the wall faintly before she turns back to her conversation.

"It was pretty cool though, seeing my name under Quinn Fabray's. That Color War is nearly legendary. People are still talking about the Fabray/Berry Marathon and the Sing. Have you two kept in touch at all? I know you're both busy being famous…the both of you actually. But…I always wondered." Rachel nods once, sighing softly as she tucks her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She smiles lightly at Natalie before she hears the voice approaching again. It calms her, soothes her, and she watches with bright eyes as a woman enters through the front cabin door. Her hair is pulled up into a messy ponytail, and her jeans hug her comfortably as her buttoned white cotton shirt billows out to cradle her hips. The lipstick she had on earlier has faded to a light rosy hue; her hazel eyes shine with mirth as her voice carries out into the air around them.

"Rachel? Babe, are you in here?" The brunette smiles, whistling and waiting patiently for the blonde to turn around; Natalie looks at the woman curiously, and when the blonde woman finally manages to turn around and find them, the younger girl's eyes widen astronomically as her tongue suddenly becomes lodged within her throat.

The blonde woman smiles, she's already scuffed her tennis shoes Rachel notices as those familiar arms approach her, and wrap around her waist from behind. The smell of cotton and honey overrides her senses and she points to the wall that had earlier captivated all of her attention.

"I found some of our old signatures babe. We were quite the delinquents weren't we?"

The beautiful blonde woman smiles, placing a light kiss to Rachel's cheek before finally turning to the befuddled girl before them. She extends a perfectly manicured hand, her smile beaming and bright. "Hello, I'm Quinn. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh my…"

"Sweetie, this is Natalie. She's a counselor this summer. Ex-Tan Captain, I thought you might be able to appreciate that. Albeit considering the Green Team is and always will be the bearer of the best captaincies…nonetheless…she was actually asking me how the two of us kept in touch over the years." Quinn is positively beaming now as she lets her hold of Rachel ebb softly. She smiles warmly at Natalie before sitting down on a nearby bed. She grimaces once, forgetting just how terrible the cushioning is on the old mattresses before motioning for Natalie to join her. Rachel watches the two of them with a warm concentration.

"Are you two…you two, you're _together?_ Quinn Fabray the three time Academy Award winning Director, and Rachel Berry, the Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award winning actress? I don't believe it…"

"We've always been extremely private people. We've been married for quite some time…."

"Married? Whoa…is this the twilight zone?"

"Nope."

"Why are you both here?"

"Visiting."

Natalie continues to stare wide-eyed between them. She is sitting sandwiched between Hollywood royalties. Both of these women have Oscars. They lived in this cabin long, long ago. Breathed this air…and it's all almost too much to grasp. Especially since all of the rumors have told an entirely different story from the one that she is currently witnessing.

"I always thought you two hated each other. Your Color War is one of the craziest, most legendary rivalries this camp has ever seen…_how_ -?" And Rachel laughs, poking Quinn playfully in the shoulder.

"That's…a complicated story actually," Quinn supplies with a smile.

And Natalie shrugs her shoulders as she makes herself more comfortable. The sound of girls running through the grounds in states of play and disorder can be heard in the background of their banter, the silence in the cabin is almost overwhelming.

"It's my free period. I've got an hour." The blonde nods, and runs her hands over her thighs.

"We are going to be here for a while." Rachel supplies, sitting down to curl her arm around Quinn's waist with a small smile. Natalie grins even wider, inching forward in her seat…prepping her body for the grandiose story that is bound to come.

"I've got all day."


	2. Chapter 2

**WELCOME TO PINEWOOD **

**[SUMMER 2007]**

"_The salt in the air, It brushes the rough sand._

_A whisper touch of light, a lingering touch of hand…"_

**(June)**

* * *

She doesn't wave.

And neither do they. She watches forlornly, as the taillights of her father's Mercury descend through the walls of pine trees blanketing the gravel road. Her mother had followed, giving Quinn a short wave and a half- hearted smile before climbing back into the passenger seat. Francesca never even said goodbye. They had just finished their 14-hour car ride from Lima. Quinn's bag had already been shipped through camp baggage, and she only carried with her a small duffel with her striped Jan Sport backpack. She turns around as a breeze lifts her blonde hair around her face, taking notice of the small area around her. She's quite literally in the middle of nowhere, and she's being forced against her will to stay here for the duration of her less than spectacular summer vacation.

Quinn Fabray is not thrilled. She lets her mask rise above her worried eyes, and she watches stoically as the head counselor makes her way over with a heavy clipboard in her hands. "You must be Quinn! It's nice to meet you, I'm Bo." The enthusiasm radiating off of the middle-aged woman should be nauseating, but Quinn somehow feels reassured.

"Come on, time to meet your counselors." Hazel eyes scan up, just noticing the small crowd at the picnic tables nearby. There are at least fifty smiling and inquiring faces looking out at her, and it's already setting her demeanor at unease. She grimaces slightly before worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, letting them sink in deeply so as not to let any of her less than satisfactory thoughts escape. She follows Bo through the maze of tables, her backpack hanging heavily from her slim shoulders. She can feel her ponytail tickling the back of her neck whenever she sways her head. She decides to concentrate on that to occupy her attention. Bo's clipboard pops open and through her lashes she can see Bo's hands rifling through paperwork, finally settling on the pages that she needs.

"Ah…alrighty. Quinn Fabray, cabin 22. Abee Robertson and Megan Wilke." As the number is called the sea of counselors part, and two women run up, laying claim with beaming smiles. Quinn tries to smile back as she calculates them, but fails miserably. She doesn't want to be here, she won't be pretending otherwise. Nevertheless she watches them approach her, and when they extend their hands she lets them take her belongings. She also lets them walk her to the nurse for her lice check, and she sits quietly while she lets them talk to her about things that she has no real care for.

"Do you like Tennis?" Abee asks whilst they pass through the gazebo towards the upper cabin line. She doesn't look very old, maybe twenty-two at the most, and her strawberry blonde hair falls down in loose waves clouding her face. She looks too happy – and Quinn is assured that it will fade…no one stays that happy all of the time. Her own family is testament to that. Quinn shrugs her shoulders silently.

"Oh…how about water-skiing? We have a property on Lovewell Pond nearby, and we'll be taking the campers on three-hour long trips every day throughout the summer. Sounds awesome right? I'm actually on Lovewell staff." Quinn shrugs her shoulders again, and Abee stumbles in the conversation. Unfortunately Megan takes up the slack and as they walk down the cabin line, her round of questioning becomes much more annoying for the small blonde, despite the cool accent.

"Do you like peanut butter? I've never actually tried it outside of a candy, but I imagine it tastes good yea? I've always wondered." Perhaps Megan is expecting an exclamation of "WHAT? I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER" but Quinn won't have it. And although she'd never admit how cool it is to have a counselor from Wales, she isn't giving up that easily. She still doesn't want to be here, she won't be making this harder on herself. She needs to prove to them that she doesn't belong. Megan takes the silence to study Quinn's small suitcase and the Cheerleading pin hanging off of one of the handles.

"You cheerlead, yea?" The small blonde nods in her indifference, she hasn't spoken a word yet since her family packed up and left Lima.

"Is it a private squad or is it for school?"

Quinn doesn't answer, she lets the silence fall between their trio as they approach their cabin. The outer walls are painted a horrendous forest green, and the door a bright red. A large pine-tree insignia hangs on the door overhead with the number 22 written across in white paint. Abee smiles as she leads the way inside. The smell of wood and dust is overbearing, and Quinn grimaces at the small space that she is now enclosed within. She took notice of the ten beds lining the walls. All equipped with striped mattresses, a pillow, and a folded pair of sheets. The two beds nearest the front door are already made and embellished with pictures and water bottles and posters. Those must belong to Abee and Megan, Quinn surmises. The cubbies along the far back wall are empty, and she can see the door leading to the small bathroom beyond.

"Lucky you, you get first pick." Quinn doesn't nod or say anything in response, she simply walks forward to a bed in the back far corner, setting her duffle bag on top of the mattress. She looks down to the wooden floor and notices the bags by some of the beds. She can see her two over in the other corner by the cubbies.

"Your bags, along with some of the other girls' arrived a few days ago. Do you need some help unpacking?" Quinn shakes her head as she finds her two large suitcases. She opens them both to find things that her parents and her housekeeper had packed away for her weeks ago. Bedding and foam, pillows and pillowcases, stuffed animals and posters. Her next suitcase is filled with shoes, jackets and clothes. She sighs lightly before setting to work, starting at an even pace as Abee and Megan settle into their own beds quietly. She doesn't particularly care if they think she's a mute, or that she may be slightly off kilter. She sets to her unpacking, letting her thoughts carry her forward.

"You're our first camper…but we're supposed to be getting the next member of our cabin tomorrow when most of the other campers arrive on the buses. It won't be quite so empty anymore…you'll be able to make friends." The words are said with a thick undercurrent of pity. Quinn may only be thirteen years old, but she can trace their conversational motives from where she stands folding her clothes into piles. Abee doesn't say anything else when she notices that Quinn won't be answering, instead sharing a leveled glance with Megan from across their beds. And Quinn bites her lip, trying to keep her emotions at bay as she loads her clothes into her cubbies. She already wishes that she were anywhere else but here.

- {||||||||} -

The bugle is loud and alarming, and Quinn blinks her eyes open to the sound of fanfare shaking her awake. She's cold and chilled underneath her sheets and blankets, and she can see the mist of her breath surrounding her like a halo in the early morning frost. She squints her eyes and turns her head seeing her counselors already shuffling about the empty cabin and she groans lightly. Burying her blonde tresses deeper into the cotton of her linens.

"Good Morning." Abee trills.

"Morning' Quinn. Time to get up." Megan shakes her lightly by her covered feet and Quinn can't help but scowl into her pillow. She wouldn't be obliging them were it not for the sound of the bugle ringing again through the loudspeakers. With a leveled brow and a scowl on her face, she finally succumbs to their wishes - climbing out of bed and hurrying to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into a new pair of paints and underwear. By the time she leaves the bathroom she's donning a blue headband with jeans and a light zip up jacket, her sandals clack against the wood flooring as she follows Megan and Abee out into the brightening morning. The smell of pine is ubiquitous here in the forests of Maine. And Quinn would be lying if she said that she hates it. She scrunches up her nose nonetheless - appearances of self-righteous disgust are her forte these days - and she squints up into the rising sun as she follows the small horde of counselors and camp staff to the flagpole.

Everyone stands in a circle while a group of counselors take their time raising the flag, Quinn stares transfixed in her boredom. By the time flag raising is ended she can feel the claustrophobia of the other counselors eyes as they circle her and try to swarm her with questions. Her silence isn't ignored this time, but respected. She eats her breakfast in silence in _Tanglewood_. The dining hall appeals to her literary nature, and all throughout the meal she finds herself glancing up at all of the painted plaques from campers long departed. It isn't until the words escape her lips that she realizes that she's already breaking her own rule.

"What do Green and Tan mean?" The slip of her tongue causes her to internally flinch and outwardly pause. She wants to take it back, but the air hangs thickly where her words have already rippled. Megan smiles at her widely, and Abee almost looks shocked, but she hides it well. Quinn almost hates their nonchalance more than their feigned indifference.

"From what we hear…those are teams for Color War. The campers get broken up into Green and Tan teams, and at some point during this summer a competition of sorts begins with events. It sounds like loads of fun." The young blonde nods her head almost unnoticeably as she turns back down to her bowl of rice krispies…upset that her emotional wall has already managed a small crumble in the heavy foundations already laid.

By ten thirty the bugle sounds again, signaling the arrival of the first coach bus to Pinewood Camp. Its large windows and bright lights further illuminate the sunny day as the bus makes its slow ascent up the parking lot gravel road. Its berth is overlarge and long, and from the tinted glass, smiling faces can be seen as if in a silhouette. Megan had urged Quinn to stay and to see the first arrivals, and she obliges. The blonde can feel the sweat tickling the back of her neck and in the time that they all spend waiting, she's already fallen victim to a couple of mosquitos. She would have much rather stayed in the cabin to read her book in silence than to be here exchanging silent pleasantries with people that she doesn't even particularly care for. The heat burns her light pupils before she brings her hand up to cover the glare. And as her eyes refocus she hears the hiss of breaks, and the swinging of a door. Bo hurries past with an even larger clipboard than the one she had the day before. And in a flurry of movement, girls of varying ages can be seen making their way off of the bus steps into the overflowing pine enclosure.

"Melanie Clearwater, It's good to see you back this summer!" Melanie looks to be no older than ten, and a large puppy backpack falls off of one shoulder as she bulldozes into Bo, giving her a squealing hug. Quinn watches curiously as this greeting takes place over and over again with each exit of a new camper, even including some of the counselors. And for the first time, Quinn Fabray realizes that while she was completely ignored and underappreciated at her last middle school…here…she is nothing more than a new camper. With all of the changes she's undergone in the last six months, she realizes that most of these girls probably won't even care. She's Quinn – but somehow Lucy is still here, hiding in the shadows. She's essentially a nobody in a place where cliques and friendships have already been established. And all too suddenly, the blonde feels ridiculously out of place - and totally inadequate; Abee must have sensed her discomfort, and Quinn can feel her nudge her softly in the side with an elbow, leaning over to give her a reassuring smile. Quinn still isn't sure whether or not she cares for Abee and Megan, but the small things have always mattered. And that small touch of recognition doesn't leave her feeling quite as alone as she anticipated, she is silently grateful for small wonders.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, I never thought I'd see _that_ face again."

And like a beacon, Quinn snaps her head up to the line of descending campers exiting the bus. She sees her, a small thing really – with hair falling about her shoulders and a green and white bedazzled PINEWOOD STAFF '85 vintage sweater on. She has on blue jeans and penny loafers; a smile surrounds her face in a tight embrace. Quinn watches this girl curiously with an ounce of interest. "Hi, Bo!" She hears the girl named Rachel beam in return, her arms flying out and around the woman in a binding bear hug. And in a flurry that passes by in a curious haste, Quinn watches as the girl named Rachel Berry descends upon her, assigned to Senior Cabin 17.

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry, it looks like we're in the same Cabin!" The girl smiles at her, showing off a small smile that's all teeth and big brown eyes. Quinn stares at her for a moment too long – studying the girl – before shaking off the deep feeling of unease fluttering around her head. She bends her lips into a frown and turns away without answering. Abee and Megan stare between their two campers with awkward half- smiles – both of them silently dreading the nightmare that Quinn Fabray will no doubt be…for all of them. But Rachel Berry is a trooper – she smiles at Quinn again, linking their arms despite the other girl's silence.

"I hear you're new...there's so much to tell you…"

- {||||||||} -

Quinn sits at an empty wooden picnic table that's been set out on the Senior cabin line just in front of cabins 16 and 17; A moleskin notebook rests between her palms as she writes. She's lost within her head as she transcribes letters to friends she doesn't have, and relatives that she's never liked, the ink is bold on the paper. However the silence that she's created for herself doesn't last long, within minutes she can hear the nearby sound of feet on dirt and rocks, descending down wooden cabin steps. She already knows who it is; Rachel Berry hasn't let her alone in the five hours that they've come to know each other. Quinn can't stand her already. The girl in question skips over to the picnic table and takes a seat, a welcoming smile on her lips as she sets a small iPod Nano down between them.

"Do you mind if I run scales while you write Quinn? I need to stay in tip top shape this summer if I plan to make it to Broadway someday."

Quinn doesn't say anything; she doesn't even look up – instead focusing all of her concentration on the scribbles that are now lining her notebook. A fire burns somewhere in her belly, and while it should be…it isn't completely unsettling. Quinn furrows her eyebrows slowly as her pen strokes against the paper.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Rachel beams.

Within moments, the empty cabin line is filled with the melodious voice of one Rachel Berry. Earphones plugged in, and voice trilling with the words of a song that Quinn's never heard before, but as she stares at her pages of notebook paper – she's sure that Rachel Berry has the most beautiful voice that she's ever heard. This makes her hate her all the more as her pen digs grooves and turns lines into squiggles over and over and over again.

- {||||||||} -

By the second week of camp, everyone already knows her name. They call her at dinner and lunch. At rest hour even. The other girls ask her questions and attempt to include her in conversations that she has no interest in. And she wonders _how they know her_. They link arms with her and pull her to activities that she has no care for. She still isn't even sure if she remembers the names of her other six cabin mates – in her mind she simply refers to them by monikers she fashioned for them on the first day of camp.

There's "Weird Haircut," at this point Quinn thinks her name may be something like Taylor, or Tara – she isn't quite sure. But what she does know is that she's tall and lanky with a terrible shaggy shoulder length haircut and braces. Quinn thinks she must be from somewhere remote, like Kansas. And then there's Veronica from Spain. Quinn knows this because Veronica trills her name in her native Madridian tongue and if Quinn had forgotten how to pronounce it properly – _No, it's Ve-rrrrrrrronica_ – than she would have gotten a Spanish earful, ripe with words like: _estupida, mierda, _and_ joder_ - also, Veronica is _beautifu_l which only adds to Quinn's distaste_._ Thirdly there's Avery – Jewish, recently Bat-Mitzvah-ed and New Yorker through and through – if Quinn didn't hate this place so much, and her parents weren't so adamant about Judaism's flaws as a whole – they could have possibly been friends in another life. Sky comes from hippie parents somewhere out West and progressive, like San Francisco. All Quinn knows is that she seems overly passionate about soccer, and disappears for ridiculous lengths of time only to return completely sweaty and covered in grass stains – she's not sure how she feels about the girl just yet. Fifthly, there's Grace – a quiet demure thing – with pretty hair ties and ribbons, and red cheeks. She's ridiculously boring and she doesn't seem to have many friends, Quinn can relate in ways that she doesn't care to admit.

And finally…there's Rachel Berry. She's from Ohio just like Quinn, Lima actually. Quinn doesn't tell her that her parents have just moved in to the small town via relocation from Bellville. She doesn't want to give Rachel that kind of hold over her – the advantage of commonality. Rachel is everything that Quinn _thinks_ that she hates. Loud voice, big eyes, exuberant type-A personality…the girl's a control freak. She's thirteen, with a nighttime, a daytime and a morning routine. She's up before the bugle and always the first to flag raising – she holds Quinn's arms and smiles at her like the two of them are _friends._ The counselors love her, they crave her excitement…people _adore _her here.

It's dreadful.

- {||||||||} -

Avery sits atop Rachel's bed as she paints her fingernails. She's precise in her brushstrokes, and her eyes never leave her task as she trills out questions in her native New York accent.

"So, what team are you gonna be on Rach?"

"Green." Rachel responds happily. She's busy writing her 50th letter back home, and it's only been two weeks of summer camp. Talk about anal, and compulsive. Quinn frowns from her bed where she's fully immersed herself within the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien's _The Hobbit_.

"How do you already know that though, you weren't a camper last year." Grace responds demurely. However quiet, she must be intrigued, her eyes wide as she lingers on the final tips of the conversation.

"I visited over Mini-Camp. You know that two-day thing for people who are thinking of sending their kids here? You get to live in the cabins for 2 days and go to activites. Well I did that, and then my Dad's mom was a camper here in the 40's and 50's, she was on the Green Team. It's in my blood really." Rachel lists excitedly; she's bouncing on her back legs now as she kneels on the bed. Quinn's lost interest and stopped paying attention a long while ago. But quite suddenly, she hears her name leave exuberant lips. Rachel Berry of course, Quinn rolls her eyes and turns a calculated page.

"Quinn?"

"Quinn."

"Maybe she has her headphones in." Avery whispers. Weird Haircut shrugs.

"Quinn, I am aware that you can hear me." Rachel nudges, Quinn looks up to roll her eyes and pauses…Rachel Berry is at the foot of her twin bed, smiling at her. Quinn huffs, lowering her book – her hazel eyes are blazing.

"Do you have a specific team that you think you'll be assigned to?" Rachel asks. Quinn raises her book back over her eyes, but she doesn't read any of the words. She let's her pupils scan over the printed ink slowly, letting her mind wind down, her ears are buzzing.

"I think you look like a Tan, but obviously these things can't be guessed." Rachel surmises. Quinn shrugs her shoulders just as a weight descends on top of her comforter. Brown hair flows out on the bedspread, some if it fanning out to curtain her right calf. She looks down to see Rachel Berry lying there, back against the comforter, eyes peering up at the graffiti colored rafters of their cabin. No one else bats an eyelash, Quinn tenses, her fingers freezing alongside the margins of her book. Rachel peers up at her innocently, a question on the tip of her tongue. She opens her mouth once, but no words come out – it's like she's looking for the right thing to say. Quinn studies her curiously.

"Is it alright if I stay here…?" Her words are quiet, and Quinn thinks that this is the most timid she's ever remembered Rachel Berry being in the few weeks that they've known each other. Quinn doesn't say anything…she turns back to her book, her teeth sink into her bottom lip as her eyebrows scrunch together.

Rachel smiles.


	3. Chapter 3

**WELCOME TO PINEWOOD**

**[SUMMER 2007]**

"_The salt in the air, It brushes the rough sand._

_A whisper touch of light, a lingering touch of hand…"_

**(July)**

* * *

The next Tuesday is Abee's night off, and Megan has been sneaking hints to them all day about a cabin activity after dinner. She's been off-handedly mentioning it all afternoon, a sly smirk tainting her lips. Veronica remains un-amused, and during dinner she manages to ignore everyone at the table by leaning backwards on her chair and talking to Inez and Isabel De Leon Bernal, the twins who sit adjacent to them in Cabin 18. Sky is too busy scarfing down spaghetti and breadsticks to even immerse herself in conversation…leaving Megan to spew all of her ramblings on the few campers she has left in attention.

"Are you lot excited for our Cabin activity tonight, it's gonna be wild."

"Yea sure, Megan." Weird haircut replies, around a mouth full of spaghetti. Rachel smiles quietly as she plays around with the few peas left rolling left and right around her plate. Quinn sits next to her, staring at the motion silently, her own food relatively untouched. She nudges Rachel silently, letting their elbows make brief contact. It's a wonder that Quinn's even managed to come out of her shell this much – she still despises this place and everything that it stands for, but she can't help but feel an odd connection to Rachel Berry. It's infuriating and intriguing all at the same time, and while she cannot fathom an explanation, she knows that she at least respects the overly loud brunette. With the slight bumping of elbows, Rachel swivels her head to glance at Quinn, her lips are neither pulled into a frown or a smile, and her eyes are tired.

"What's wrong?" Quinn whispers.

Rachel Berry suddenly proceeds to drop her fork. Her mouth agape, her eyes wide. She must realize that she's staring because she suddenly relaxes her jaw, biting her lip – a slow smile spreads across her features. Quinn watches her silently, inquisitively, she feels awkward now and so she returns to her plate of food. Rachel nudges her in retaliation; Quinn turns to her, perplexed.

"You just talked."

"I know." Quinn whispers. Rachel is beaming now, all wide teeth and bright eyes – it's a welcome respite from her tired look from only moments before.

"You've never talked to me before…not really."

"I didn't have anything to say." Rachel hums in understanding, as she fiddles shyly with her fork.

"And you do now?"

"I guess." All too suddenly Weird Haircut forces herself into their conversation, her lips smack together in excitement and she squeals once she's realized that Quinn is talking to Rachel. The table's attention zooms in and focuses, seven pairs of eyes trained on blonde hair and pink lips – even Veronica's stopped her conversation with the twins, intrigue getting the best of her. Quinn can feel the stares of her cabin-mates around her, zeroing in with ferocity. Megan has a weird smile on her face, and everyone else just stares at her in varying degrees of excitement and confusion. She feels victimized, she wants to punch Weird Haircut in the face, but she manages to keep her palms fisted within her lap. Rachel is looking at her now, her eyes softened, and before she can comprehend anything a soft hand is coming to wrap itself around her right fist in her lap, re-assuring her. Rachel clears her throat softly.

"Why is everyone staring?"

"I, didn't…well, I'm pretty sure Quinn just _talked_." Weird Haircut mumbles. Avery nods a few times, and Veronica loses interest, quickly turning back around to continue her previously interrupted conversation: "_Vale, estoy seguro en que vivo con idiotas," _she resumes animatedly.

"Yea…" Sky mumbles, her cheeks still bulging out with spaghetti.

"Quinn talks all the time." Rachel replies, her eyes determined, and her counter argument not open for re-evaluation. Her hand squeezes Quinn's under the table.

"No she doesn't, I'm pretty sure Quinn hasn't said anything to anybody since camp started." Avery concedes. Quinn's eyes are glowering. She doesn't owe anything to any of these girls; they have no idea who she used to be…who she's still trying to become. Quinn Fabray is a new person, never before having existed prior to December of last year – she's a quiet storm, circling the gulf – transparent but altogether lethal if wrongly crossed. And she has no idea what it is about Rachel Berry that has her calming down, that is grounding her – but it's wild and it's confusing, and…_are _they friends? Does this a friendship make? Quinn puckers her lips together, biting them once, before sighing.

"Leave it alone everybody." Megan concedes. She doesn't join in their discussion, she stares between her campers solemnly, more sad than anything else for Quinn's solemnity. There are a few seconds of silence, the sound of _Tanglewood_ is deafening around them, and Quinn's eyes squint further, her teeth biting the inside of her cheek. She wants to yell at them all, she owes nothing to any of them…but it's Rachel's reassuring posture beside her that compels her to open her mouth for the second time since arriving to this hell hole. Her words are measured and slow…a fire burns deeply around every syllable.

"I can talk whenever, and to whoever I want…you aren't my keeper, Avery. None of you are." Megan's mouth hangs open slightly; Avery furrows her eyebrows in offense. The rest of the table stares between the three girls ominously.

"I was_ just _saying, Quinn…gosh."

Rachel clears her throat, spearing a few peas onto her fork.

"Well…I mean, now we can all really bond as a cabin, right? There's no need for anybody to be upset." Rachel turns to Quinn for a second, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "…we're happy that you're comfortable enough with us now for us all be real friends, Quinn."

- {||||||||} -

_Dear Journal,_

_I hate that she knows me so well…I've been trying so hard to be someone different. Someone that isn't Lucy…and I think she knows. Well, duh…she doesn't know, but something about her is so much different than anything else. And when she sings, I'm pretty sure the heavens melt at her voice…a voice like that is the reason why I believe in God. Not in the way that father wants me to – not with spite or judgment, but with…._

_grace. _

"What are you writing?" Quinn sucks in a rushing gulp of air as she gasps, shutting her small leather bound book closed in one fell motion. The canoe rocks back and forth slightly with the sudden jerkiness of her movements, and a bit of water manages to slosh around the frame.

"It's nothing." Quinn mumbles as she quietly catches her breath. She closes her eyes for a moment in order to collect herself before putting her journal away for safekeeping in her bag.

"Oh." Rachel smiles. Quinn's pretty sure that Rachel knows that it isn't _nothing_. Either way, the brunette ignores it for now, and instead turns her head up to the billowing clouds overhead as their canoe coasts down the river. Quinn follows her gaze, unable to help herself from smiling too.

- {||||||||} -

July is hot. The humidity in the Maine summer air is stifling, it's worse than Ohio. The mosquitos are ravenous creatures here that nest and feed on the weak. Quinn feels them trying to prick her in the night; she snuggles beneath her blankets in futile attempts to keep them out. It is in these moments, hidden beneath a large comforter and burrowed within her blankets that she finds the time to write.

Tonight she has a Maglite in her left hand as she scribbles with her right. Her journal pages are a bit creased and worn – camp does those things to belongings though, no matter how hard you try and keep them sheltered. It's late, and Quinn can her Veronica breathing deeply from the bed beside her. The older girls in the cabins further down the line are still awake. Their laughter and their shrieks echo softly through the campgrounds – Quinn envies them…not because they have not yet been forced to succumb to the throes of slumber; but because they have everything that she's in the midst of working so hard for. Erin Lehmann is _gorgeous. _She's a fifteen-year-old Floridian beauty whose family hails from somewhere exotic like Weston or Boca Raton. She walks to meals with a bounce in her step – a sway in her hips – like she knows that everyone's watching. The boys at Cedar ogle her at dances; they send her pony letters via the inter-camp mail.

People say that she'll be a Captain this year…whatever _that_ means.

And Quinn hates girls like her - hates that they parade around her, humiliate her without even knowing. She hates that they're older – that the younger girls here respect them. It's vile…and Quinn's jealous.

She'll never admit it but she's copying them despite her hate. She's committing their conversations and their mannerisms to memory.

She'll be Erin Lehmann one of these days…and she hates herself for it.

She gets a total of twelve mosquito bites that night. She scratches some of them until they bleed.

- {||||||||} -

The all-camp activity on Sunday evenings is probably the highlight of the week. The morning hours always consist of a Unit activity, broken up between age groups: The Juniors are the youngest at camp, ranging from seven to ten years of age. They're cute and not at all awkward yet – they weasel their ways into the hearts of the older campers by adorable-ness alone. The Intermediates, aged eleven to twelve – are the awkward pre-teens. They're all braces, and wavy un-straightened hair. They mill around the grounds gossiping about the latest boy band craze. They don't dance with boys quite yet at the dances, and when they do – it's from a grueling two-foot distance. The Seniors, aged thirteen and fourteen, are _crazed_ – they spend their days wishing they were older, prettier, more glamorous, adored. They're the saddest group here, they always seem to try much too hard. The Pines, are the oldest campers and the most revered, fifteen and sixteen years of age and they hold the keys to camp – they have privilege, respect, honor. They're who everyone else aspires to be.

And so it's with great humility that all of these groups come together at the end of the day on Sunday late afternoon. It's an outpouring of mimicry and friendship. Devotion and favoritism…

Bo stands at the center of the Tennis Courts, clipboard in hand as the campers and counselors approach, all of them taking seats on the clay around her. Most of the campers stick to sitting with their cabins, others inter-mingle…The Pines arrive late, this is not unusual; Quinn Fabray watches them arrive in a massive drove, her hazel eyes studying their smiles and easy demeanors. From beside her Avery sucks on a Carmel Apple Pop – her lips smack together loudly.

"What do you think the activity's going to be this week?" Avery questions, her words are distracted as she takes her time braiding a friendship bracelet in her lap. The strings are all tied in a spectrum of color and taped to her knee as she pulls them taught, knotting her fingers. Quinn doesn't answer, she's too busy watching Erin Lehmann laugh at a snide joke from afar. Out of the corner of her eye she sees the weight of a body plop down beside her. She turns, and Rachel is sitting next to her, staring at Erin Lehmann just as Quinn had been doing milliseconds before.

"Hi Rachel." Quinn mumbles. Rachel looks toward Erin Lehmann and Rebecca Hoff as they braid each other's hair. She smiles softly, almost sadly. She takes a moment to collect herself before shifting her large brown eyes toward Quinn.

"They're amazing people Quinn, but you should stop comparing yourself to them." Quinn's eyes widen, her lips part, her eyebrows furrow as she fights for a counter argument. That is not what this is, she's _offended_; mostly because what Rachel is saying is true.

"I—I'm not." Her words are weak, and they disappear like vapor into the already pre-existing humidity of the day. Rachel bites her lip, nodding her head. The conversation is over, and the two of them are suddenly forced to look ahead at Bo as she begins the task of announcing the day's afternoon activity.

Capture the Flag.

Within ten minutes, the camp is divided by cabin bed location. Those that sleep on the right side are on the Blue flag team, those on the left…the Red. The sun is bright and mocking as it sits perched high atop the clouds, peeking in through the canopy of pine trees. Quinn stares up at it, she lets her eyes widen – she's almost daring the sun to blind her – to ruin her for a lifetime. Before she can however, a whistle is blown far off into the distance and suddenly people are on their feet. They're running, sprinting all around her. She hears footsteps in the woods behind her; she can see shadows circling the outlines of cabins. She moves forward, her eyes drifting down to the dirt at her feet – they water from the heat. Her legs start moving at a slow jog, weaving in between shrubs and cabins. The entire camp is the battleground, the centerline separating the two teams an invisible tether that stretches the entire width of the campgrounds - basketball courts to lower fields. She sees a few people on her team linking arms, creating alliances. Melanie Clearwater has a bandana tied around her head and war paint smeared beneath her eyes. Quinn is alone – she's used to it being this way, she appreciates the solitude – she's known absolutely nothing else.

Over the loudspeaker she hears the sound of a counselor, annunciating a turn in the competition, a flag at stake.

"The Red Team has captured the Blue flag! I repeat the Red Team has captured the Blue flag! Over and out." The girls on her team jump and whine. Their ears prickle and their muscles spring into action as they cast sideways glances, on the lookout for the Red Crusader that's infiltrated their territory. Quinn hides behind the shadows of Cabin 22, eyes straining. A branch falls down somewhere behind her and she cranes her neck, there's no one there. Just a trashcan, Quinn ignores it for a second before she suddenly hears an almost indecipherable cough. She turns around again, and to her dismay there is nothing there again. She sighs for a moment, hands burrowed deep within her pockets before she takes a moment to squint up into the sun. She lets her gaze linger for a moment before slowly bringing her hazel eyes down. And that's when she sees her…

Rachel Berry, eyes wide and chest beating wildly perched above her, nestled between the branches of a large pine tree. The Blue Flag is tucked safely in her back pocket as it dangles around her. They stare at one another for a long moment, silence encompassing them despite the shrieks of girls off in the distance. Quinn leans against the frame of Cabin 22 crossing her arms, a slow grin spreading across her face.

"Well, well…climbing trees is dangerous you know." Rachel scoffs from above her before she catches herself. Her foot slips for a second before she catches her balance. Quinn's smile falls.

"Rachel…I don't think you should be up there…" Concern. _Concern?_ Quinn rolls her eyes at her own loss of self-control as she looks up at the brunette.

"Competitive behavior is normal Quinn, I can't help it if I want to win." Rachel whispers harshly, sure to look around the enclosure for peeping eyes or eavesdropping ears. The sun splinters between the branches of the large pine tree that Rachel finds herself hidden within, and Quinn stares at her for another long moment. Committing this Rachel Berry to memory.

"Why aren't you…I mean…you could stop me if you wanted to." Rachel stammers. Her voice is low and steady, so that only Quinn can hear her from her position at the foot of the trunk. Quinn sighs for a moment, she scratches at one of the mosquito bites on her arm for a moment as she tries to formulate an answer, despite the fact that she isn't sure she has one. It's been at least five minutes wasted between them. Five minutes of time that Quinn could have captured the girl vindicated her team…potentially saved the game. She isn't sure why she's stalling at all.

"I'd rather not climb up there after you. Not my thing." Rachel bites her lip, as she searches for a better gain on one of the branches holding her weight. She struggles for a moment when it cracks, the sound loud and shattering in the enclosure around them. Rachel's eyes widen for a split second as she realizes that she's slowly losing control of her situation. Her right foot flounders in mid air as she struggles to catch her balance. Quinn watches from below, her stare narrowing, her feet setting into motion.

"Quinn?" Rachel whispers just before losing her breath as the second branch supporting her cracks from beneath her weight, falling to the dirt floor. And in a second Quinn is there, at the foot of the tree and Rachel is falling…slowly at first, but then quickly. It's like a cold rush to the head as thistles and pine leaves hit her on the way down, wiping against her skin, creating small abrasions as she goes. It would be a beautiful decent in a movie perhaps – where drama is not only adored, but it is required. Here, right now – Rachel finds it terrifying, her scream piercing the humid air, as she flails, nothing beneath her but atmosphere. And then she feels a solid form around her, cocooning her like a blanket. Encircling her for a moment before everything comes crashing down, and the ground is real and hard beneath her weight…and then…

There is darkness.

- {||||||||} -

_Dear Journal,_

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _

She's awake first. Her head pounds, and she can hear it thudding in her ears. She opens her eyes and sees nothing but rafters and a wooden ceiling above her. Her surroundings are familiar, but that she has a hard time placing her whereabouts nonetheless. She tilts her neck to look down her body, and finds herself lying down in bed, a simple thing with white sheets and blue blankets. And at the very end of the bed rest two pillows held down by the weight of her right leg, which is casted from the mid calf down. Her painted toenails peek at her from the crest of the plaster. Quinn Fabray groans…the pain now turning into something very real.

"Quinn…a-are you awake?" It's a whisper to her left, and she turns her head slowly in the bed – she's sure that she remembers that voice, that whisper in particular. And she can't say that she's surprised to find a guilty looking Rachel Berry biting her bottom lip as Quinn studies her.

"I'm going to guess that us being wherever we are is your fault." Quinn groans.

"I'm so sorry." Rachel whimpers. Quinn can't see, but from the way the brunette's voice is wavering, she's sure that there must be tears in those large doe eyes of hers.

"It's whatever Rachel…at least in here there's peace and quiet. Where is _here_ anyway?"

"Doctor's Cabin."

"Hmm, is there a reason why you're cooped up in here too? Or …"

"Broken wrist. I…thank you, for trying to break my fall. Climbing up that tree was not one of my smarter ideas."

Quinn raises an eyebrow skeptically, her mouth tilting up at the edges. And suddenly there's laughing. It's deep, coming from the pit of her diaphragm as she stares at Rachel's somber face. She laughs for the both of them, and this failure of a predicament that they've suddenly found themselves in. Two gimps, left to enjoy the rest of the summer sans a limb. She laughs at the stupidity of it all, at the circumstance. And then Rachel is joining in, and there are tears in their eyes as they laugh and wince as their hands clutch at their ribs. They laugh so loudly that their ears ring and their lips crack. It isn't until one of the camp nurses opens the door to scold them for their noise levels that they're able to calm down. But by now, the smiles on their faces are nearly permanent, the mirth in their eyes blistering.

"That was the stupidest idea I've ever seen." Quinn mumbles between slowly dissipating chuckles. Rachel smiles, nodding her head before scooting over to sit her bum down atop Quinn's bed. The brunette slowly reclines her body, so that their forms are side-by-side, she lays her casted arm atop her abdomen. A casted ankle remains perched atop two pillows.

"Well…I'm glad it was you who caught me." Quinn hums, shutting her eyes – the sun peeking in through the Doctor's Cabin windows lulls her to sleep this time, its blinding rays having subsided for now.

"Me too."


	4. Chapter 4

**WELCOME TO PINEWOOD**

**[SUMMER 2007]**

"_The salt in the air, It brushes the rough sand._

_A whisper touch of light, a lingering touch of hand…"_

**(August)**

* * *

They miss Color War break. Holed up together in the Doctor's Cabin, playing something like Spit - and with Rachel's broken wrist, she's much slower than she'd care to admit. And she can't seem slap the cards with the fervor that her competitiveness would have otherwise dramatized.

"MINE!" a sloppy left hand comes down and strikes the larger of the two piles, only to recoil moments later. Quinn blows a raspberry and shrugs her shoulders, happily taking the smaller of the two piles into her hand.

"Wait, I meant to slap the smaller pile!" Rachel whines pathetically, there's a pout in her bottom lip and her eyebrows flutter together in annoyance. Quinn shrugs once again, this time letting a grin tweak at the corner of her lips.

"It's not my fault _someone_ slapped the wrong pile."

"_Quinnnnnn._"

"Nope. You snooze you lose."

It's in the middle of their mini battle of the wills that they hear the first screams of jubilation, echoing through the Cabin walls from outside. Rachel stills her hands, dropping the cards into her lap, her lips fall open into an oval. The screaming comes again, much further off this time, the sounds of running bodies and laughing shrills pierce wildly through the air.

"What's going on?" Quinn asks. And before Rachel can give her an answer, the shriek of a camper running by the outside of the cabin gives it away. "COLOR WAR!" the voice yells loudly, the sound reaches their room and Rachel loses her previous shock. A smile breaks out onto her face as she jumps to her feet, scattering the rest of their cards onto the floor.

"Quinn, get up!"

"Where are we going?"

Rachel is a fireball, blazing a trail around their shared room, she weaves in and out of their beds and their board games, finally grabbing Quinn's hospital issue Crutches from their mount against the far wall. In her haste she manages to put on and lace up her shoes and Quinn's left – all with only one fully available wrist – it's a good thing that they're both hooped up on ibuprofen, because Rachel can't feel it in her adrenaline, but Quinn's nearly positive that she will later tonight. For the moment, she lets her eyes follow the blur that zooms in and out of vision. She watches enraptured as the brunette's lips spew off information faster than Quinn can process it. It's endearing really, how excited Rachel Berry gets…it's a simple joie de vivre that Quinn can't quite explain. It's alluring in it's honesty, and Quinn can't help smiling along with her, the adrenaline in her own veins pumping as if motored by iron machinery.

Karen, the nurse knocks lightly on the door, stopping Rachel in her tracks, hoodie being pulled haphazardly down her head.

"Girls?"

"Hi Karen." Quinn says. Eyebrow raised at Rachel Berry who's still struggling with the sleeves of her zip up, lips pursed.

"Excuse me nurse Karen, but our attendance is required outside for Color War. And if you're expecting to withhold the opportunity for us to go out and celebrate with our peers just because of our altogether _simple_ injuries…" Rachel begins, Quinn's nearly positive that she hasn't even taken a breath yet. Karen stops her mid rant, her body leaning up against the door frame, arms folded across her t-shirt.

"First of all…I wouldn't call a broken wrist, and especially not a fractured ankle anything close to _simple_." Karen raises an eyebrow as a sheepish grin spreads loosely around the bit of Rachel's lips that can be visibly seen through her haphazardly adorned hoodie. "And actually...I was coming to ask you both if you felt up to getting out of here to enjoy the festivities. Quinn your next Med Check-in is right before dinner…and same for you young lady." Karen smiles, before taking a step forward to help Rachel into her jacket. Brown hair, and a tan face emerge from the hood, and Rachel Berry is positively beaming as she straightens up her zipper.

"I knew you'd see things our way, Karen." She trills, biting her lip.

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for Color War. Get out there girls…you'll miss even more than you already have."

Rachel Berry doesn't have to be told twice.

- {||||||||} -

The two girls descend into a world of madness. A world set apart, existing within a small enclave of wonder and spectacle. The one hundred and fifty campers all cheer and hug and cry as though their lives have been _changed._ They parade around in groups, the names of their teams falling softly from their lips with pride. Previous campers jump and cheer to team songs long remembered, and chants seldom forgotten. Quinn stares…. enthralled from the sidelines of the lower field, held up by her crutches as people come up to her and tell her that she should be excited…Rachel disappears for moments at a time, congratulating the four Pines chosen as team Captains: Erin Lehmann and Gillian Stein for Green, Hillary Reed and Olivia Aaron for Tan. But more than that, Quinn studies the way that Rachel moves, the way she weaves in and out of embraces, the way she really _smiles_.

"This has been a really fun summer, hasn't it?" Abee walks up from out of the corner of hazel eyes, and Quinn manages a smile – her pupils still lazily fixated on the small beacon of brunette hair and doe eyes, wandering within the clusters of people. She shrugs, it's neither a yes nor a no, and Abee smiles at her, watching silently. She sighs, and points to Quinn's cast…a few sharpie signatures stand out against the light blue plaster – Rachel's is front and center, red sharpie, bold…accentuated by the presence of a star.

"How's the leg doing?"

"Better I think."

"That's good to hear. I miss seeing you at Lovewell y'know. That place is _not_ the same without your somber book reading and Rachel's crazy singing echoing out across the lake."

Quinn laughs. And she knows that Abee won't say anything towards the fact that perhaps this is the first time that she's heard her really sound so jubilant…so _free_.

"I…actually, miss being there." Abee can tell by the scrunch of eyebrows on Quinn's face that the blonde is surprised by her own answer – it's something unexpected – it's mirth. And Quinn is not accustomed to being _missed_. Parents Weekend is this week and she has no one coming to visit her. She'd received one letter this summer from her Mother – informing her of her school schedule for Orientation, no "How are you's?" no "How's camp's?" no "We miss you's." A letter postmarked from Honolulu, and a short goodbye at the end of the perfect stationary. She didn't write back – there really was no need to. And so as she stands here now, holding with dear life onto a pair of crutches and watching the afterglow of a Color War Break that she doesn't understand, she realizes that in some small way…people here might miss her; people here already do.

"Why don't you get it on all the fun stuff, slowpoke?" It's a jibe and a soft elbow to her shoulder from Abee, and Quinn smiles softly – eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun light. A light Ibuprofen haze keeps the steady thrum of broken bones at bay. She finds Rachel in a cluster; the other girls around her welcome Quinn into their celebrations wholeheartedly, almost as if she'd never not been a part of it. She feels a hand grab onto hers, and when she looks up…Rachel is looking at her. Grounding her in a way that only Rachel Berry can.

"Hold my hand while they read out Teams?" She whispers into Quinn's ear. The blonde smiles softly, nodding her head. They stand there like that for the rest of the afternoon, hands clasped tightly together. _Jordan Moskowitz, Tan…Lila O'Connell, Green_…and when Quinn finally hears her name called, annunciated evenly from the mouth of Olivia Aaron, a hand is there to squeeze her own. It squeezes firmly, and it doesn't let go.

- {||||||||} -

Color War is boring when you can't participate. Quinn learns this the hard way, having had to sit through the entirety of the Swim Meet and the Sports Events. She sits with counselors who are either just watching and supervising events, or refereeing. Rachel isn't far behind, she whines obnoxiously over the missed opportunities, the failure that she's become to her beloved team. It propels her to paint her entire body green one afternoon for a Color War rally. War paint she calls it in the middle of adding black stripes to the crests of her cheekbones. Quinn helps her line them up evenly, looking all the while skeptical as a beaming Rachel Berry propels her way out of Veronica's way and out of the cabin, the green monster having been unleashed.

It's a sight to behold.

- {||||||||} -

The weekend is rainy. It's the wild Maine summer thunderstorm kind of rain that falls thickly and with such purpose; it submerges Pinewood in a halo of moisture and precipitation…the world is saturated. Saturday morning is cold beyond measure; Quinn wakes from her cocoon with mist on her breath and a chill in her lungs. She burrows deeper despite the bugle's persistence.

"Good Morning Pinewood! Flag raising is in 30 minutes, I repeat Flag raising is in 30 minutes. Today is laundry day for cabins 10-15. And Happy Parent's Weekend!"

Quinn groans, her head buried beneath her pillow. Her hair billows out around her in wild waves and several cowlicks, she takes a moment to steady herself before rising from beneath her blankets. Rachel is already dressed and brushed, shoes adorned and smile on her face as she sits atop her comforter writing letters. She's a bizarre creature – she must notice that Quinn is staring because suddenly she's looking up, letting that smile welcome Quinn to the beauty of another day.

"Good Morning, Quinn!"

"Morning, Rach." Quinn's voice is gravelly and thick with sleep. She smiles softly before reaching for her crutches, which lie just at the foot of her bed. The metal is cold beneath her fingertips and she shivers before rising up onto her left foot, steadying her weight. Weird Haircut…whose name is actually Tegan (Quinn having deduced this from Rachel over their shared stay at the Doctor's Cabin) helps Quinn up and smiles at her kindly before reaching for the bathroom door and holding it open for the blonde to pass. The door closes and Quinn can hear the flurry of motion beyond the bathroom, the feet scurrying across the wood floor. The laughter in the air, and this is the first time this summer – that she actually feels like she's a part of something great. Cabin 22…is something altogether unforgettable.

She brushes her teeth with brighter eyes and a quirk of her lips.

- {||||||||} -

Veronica's parents don't visit. But she's from Madrid, so it makes sense. She mostly disappears and sticks with the other Spanish and Venezuelan campers whose parents aren't coming either. They sulk around the campgrounds in large droves, somberly gossiping with one another and mostly doing nothing much at all. Sky's parent's come from San Luis Obispo, they bring her younger four-year-old sister Mistie along with them. They're kind people, Quinn smiles when they hand over a signature book with her name embellished on the cover. She realizes that everyone in her cabin has received something similar, even Abee and Megan, and she thanks the two of them profusely. Avery's Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, and Grandmother all trail into Cabin 17 by mid afternoon. Her father Frank is loud – he gestures mostly with hand motions and short observations. "Avery, introduce us to 'yer friends, honey."

Their entire family talks in exactly the same fashion, they enter in a whirlwind and leave in a Tornado, and Quinn is almost happy to see them go. Tegan's mother comes alone; she's a timid thing with straight hair and beautiful green eyes. She introduces herself personally to everyone in the cabin, making sure to converse equally with everybody present. As they head out of the door, she drops a bag onto the empty beds and one into Quinn's hands with a smile…she signs Quinn's cast. Inside the bag is a sweatshirt; it's black with gold writing… _Q-Fab_ is spelled out on the back and there's a C.22 '07 printed on the upper right breast in the front. Rachel emerges from the bathroom and finds her bag on her bed, she raises it in front of her eyes and laughs when she sees the _Berrylicious_ printed on the back of her own sweatshirt. It's a wonderful cabin gift.

Grace's parents are next, they arrive in a fluster, and had forgotten to bring rain coats so her father is absolutely dripping all over the wooden floor. He laughs through it and gives Gracie a long hug, she complains that he's getting water all over her fresh clothes – he doesn't let go. When they leave, they wave happily to Abee, Megan, Quinn and Rachel …wishing them all a happy weekend. Rachel sighs from where she's sitting on top of her bed, and after a moment she makes it a mission to join Quinn. The two of them huddled close together making friendship bracelets as rain comes down in a drizzle outside.

"Aren't your parent's coming, Quinn?" Quinn hums softly as she makes a new stitch. She shakes her head and looks at Rachel for a moment before opening her mouth.

"No. My Mom wrote me last month and said they wouldn't have time."

"I'm sorry." And Quinn knows that Rachel truly is by the way that she stops what she's doing and she reaches for Quinn's hand, holding onto it atop the comforter.

"It's fine, I don't think camp life for a weekend would have suited them anyway. I don't mind, really…what about your parents?" Rachel sighs, a smile tweaking at her lips.

"Dad and Daddy are notoriously late for even the most trivial of things…they'll get here when they get here, but I'm warning you now. I've told them all about you, so if they ask you to come out with us for the day, they won't take no for an answer."

"Rachel that's really not –"

And before the words can finish leaving her lips, the front door flies open with a flourish and a gust of wind. The man standing at the threshold is tall and dark, with kind eyes and a sweater on. He's got on a pair of Khaki shorts and leather sandals, a smile on his face. Behind him is a shorter man with thick hair, glasses, and few freckles dotting his nose. He's dressed in slacks and a simple polo, a bag of goodies in his hands.

"Rachel-bear!"

"Hi Dads!" Rachel is on her feet and jumping into the arms of the first man with a flourish, her mouth spewing off happy words and anecdotes all the while. Quinn watches their meeting with a sorrowful smile on her face…the space once occupied by Rachel's warm weight suddenly cold and listless.

"Rachel, sweetie…let me see your wrist." The smaller man concedes worriedly.

"Dad, I told you, _I'm fine_."

"Listen to your Father Rachel…you know I had to pull him back from catching the first flight out of Cleveland when we got the news a few weeks ago. We were worried about you sweetheart."

"I get it…well, I mean I—we" Rachel turns to nod at Quinn, "are pretty much good as new now…aside from the casts that is."

"Speaking of…" The taller man smiles. He walks over to Quinn's bed. The blonde anticipates a handshake with the man, but he surprises her and takes a seat, enveloping her in a warm hug – it's a surprise and Quinn takes a moment to relax into the embrace, before settling completely within the warmth that it provides. He pulls back with a smile as he observes the cast around her ankle. "You…must be Quinn."

"Hello sir…I mean, Mr. and Mr. Berry." She mumbles terribly, her eyes lowered from the nerves, Rachel approaches and scootches Quinn over so that she can take a seat on the bed as well.

"Please, I'm Leroy…that worry of a man by Rachel's cubby is Hiram. We're so delighted to finally meet the gal that Rachel hasn't been able to stop talking about all summer." Leroy beams.

"Literally _ALL_ summer." Hiram adds as an afterthought as he approaches Quinn, leaning down to wrap her in a short hug. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name, Quinn." He smiles warmly, and Quinn nods in return…a grin tugging at her lips. She spends the thirty minutes or so surrounded by Berry's and their wild exuberance, they patter around the cabin, all laughs and random outbursts of song. Quinn realizes that they're the happiest family she's seen yet today, and she watches them with a soft sorrow, and a full heart. Conversation stops suddenly and it's a moment before Quinn realizes that all six of their dark brown eyes are focused in on her. She sputters for a moment, trying to catch up.

"I'm sorry, w-what was that?"

"Rachel's just been telling us that your Parents aren't coming for the weekend. We thought that if you were up to it, you'd perhaps like to join us for dinner out tonight, maybe a movie?" Rachel is clapping her hands and nodding at Quinn, beckoning the blonde's voice to say yes. Quinn stalls for a moment looking between the three Berry's…

"No is absolutely not an answer." Hiram smiles. And before Quinn can contest, Rachel is grabbing her bag and snatching up Quinn's shoulder bag from the bed along with Quinn's crutches and the two of their raincoats.

"Hop to it Fabray, us Berry's are very resilient."

- {||||||||} -

The day passes in a blur…of food, of fun, of frenzy. Quinn makes it back to camp with Rachel, arms full of goodies and candies. There's a Maine sweatshirt on her arm and honey sticks in her pockets. Rachel sings a show tune loudly as they make their way slowly down the cabin line, having already said goodbye to Rachel's fathers for the day up by the main entrance. And as they walk together, the sun sets softly in the distance, coming in a haze due to the remnants of moisture still clinging to the air. They pass by a large puddle of water and Rachel stops them at the edge, clinging to Quinn's crutches as they both peer down into their smiling reflections. Rachel's hair is pulled up into a messy ponytail and she has a tattoo of a moose on one of her cheeks. Quinn's hair is in much the same condition, a matching tattoo on her face as well. And Quinn watches through the clear reflection as a smiling Rachel turns to look at her happily, a soft smile playing on her lips as she sweeps a few wispy bangs out of Quinn's eyes.

"I'm glad you came with us today." The reflective Rachel whispers. There's a faint blush to her cheeks, even through the ripples of water, and Quinn watches with a bitten lip as Rachel inches forward, kissing her on the cheek, just over the Moose cracking there. They stand like that for a while, staring down at their linked reflections, undulating with the ripples of a clear puddle.

"C'mon Q-Fab, let's get back to the cabin." Rachel says, and Quinn turns and looks up from their shared reflection, a blush to her cheeks and a nod to her head. They turn together and hobble slowly down the line…their footprints leaving indelible marks as they go.


	5. Chapter 5

**INTERLUDES [2032]**

"_The tide brings the ebb, it washes through the deep._

_Like a sweet lovers caress, of whose kiss I do grow weak…"_

_**(August 17th, 2007)**_

* * *

_Dear Journal,_

_Today was the last day of summer camp, and I can't believe how much I'm going to miss this place. Mom and Dad showed up with Francesca around noon, they looked as surly as usual. It took everything I had in me not to cry in front of them – that doesn't mean that my eyes didn't sting or that my breath didn't stop short. I stared at the six other girls in my cabin, not sure if we would ever cross paths again._

_And I can honestly say that I'll miss them all with everything in me. Avery, Tegan, Gracie, Sky, Veronica (well maybe not Veronica)…_

_Rachel._

_We're supposed to meet each other back in Ohio, she still doesn't know that I live in Lima, but she's determined to find me. Secretly I want her to…and it terrifies me._

_I'll miss her the most, for a lifetime maybe…and that scares me more than anything else. I have to go now, Rachel is coming to say goodbye for maybe the last time and I need all my strength in order to hold it together…don't cry, don't cry, don't cry._

_Please, don't forget about me._

_Love, _

_Quinn_

_p.s. DON'T CRY._

- {||||||||} -

**(Present Day)**

"Wait, so let me get this straight..." Natalie pauses for a thought, her tongue caught on the lip of her teeth. The two women in front of her smile at one another for a moment while the younger girl finds the words that she's looking for. "You were _friends_?"

Quinn laughs for a second, it's full of air and uniquely soft, Rachel nods her head slowly, a smile itching itself across her lips.

"Uh huh." Quinn mumbles. She twiddles with the wedding band on her left ring finger absentmindedly.

"But…but – you guys _hated_ each other. At least that's what everyone thinks." Rachel shakes her head softly as she stares down between the three of them at Quinn's ring- It glints softly in the sunlight that streams in through the Cabin windows.

"You have to understand Natalie, that in the beginning…things were really hard for Quinn. She was trying to be someone who she really wasn't. She was never outright mean…but she wasn't approachable either…I just sort of helped her along that first summer." Rachel adds.

"Yea, and on the same page, Rachel was a total pretentious know-it-all back then…memories get skewed." Quinn adds on as an afterthought.

"Excuse me?" Rachel counters, her lips having fallen open into a circle, a laugh-y huff escapes her mouth as she rounds in on her wife with mirthful eyes.

"Oh, sorry Natalie. Rachel _still is_ a total pretentious know-it-all…things haven't changed much."

"Oh, okay Fabray…If you want to play dirty, I have a few camp stories of my own that I'm sure you don't want floating around." Rachel raises her eyebrows, a tactic learned from Quinn Fabray herself as she smiles maniacally at her wife. Quinn glares at her in return.

Natalie stares between them, her brows furrowed and millions of questions waiting on the tip of her tongue as the two superstars before her bicker like the old married couple that they are seemingly becoming. She looks up and can see old camp signatures scattered all over the ceiling, her eyes settle on a large painted _"VERONICA ALVAREZ- BAZA '06-'12" _covering almost an entire wooden plank. She points at it, garnering Quinn and Rachel's attention.

"Is that the Veronica girl that was in your cabin? The years match." Quinn raises her head and cranes her neck to see the signature before smiling. It's full and bright, Rachel spots it as well and nudges Quinn softly in the side with a matching smile on her face.

"That it is."

"Yea."

"I miss that girl." Quinn laughs, her eyes returning back to watch Natalie. The hazel swirls as if submerged in a memory and Quinn shakes her head softly, a sigh on her tongue.

"From what you've told me, it sounded like she was a total bitch." Natalie shrugs, a frown on her face.

"Oh, she was." Rachel concedes. "But we were thirteen back then…people change. You have to remember that we spent the next 5 summers together here. She ended up turning into a person that I would entrust my life with…and, I'm pretty sure Quinn would tell you the same."

"Ditto." Quinn smiles.

"Huh." Natalie muses. Far off in the distance a bugle can be heard over the loudspeakers. The fanfare makes its way hazily around the campgrounds.

"Damn…the period's over, I have to go teach basketball." Natalie groans to herself as she pushes her tired body off of the bed and pockets her cell phone.

"I really wanted to hear the rest of this story too…fuck my life." She mumbles as she grabs her clipboard and ref whistle. Rachel watches her quietly; she can already see some of the older campers making their way back to the Cabin in the distance…arms linked and tired smiles.

"What unit do you have this period?" Rachel inquires.

"Uh…It's 4th now, so Pines." Quinn smiles at that and nudges Rachel with an eyebrows raise. Rachel shakes her head, but Quinn persists, eying her with a smile on her lips…after a few seconds, Rachel finally concedes.

"Can we go with you? We haven't seen much of Pinewood yet, and it would be fun to help out or just watch…" Quinn asks. Natalie turns, her eyes wide and her lips open in disbelief. She stammers for a moment before nodding her head profusely, knocking over a tennis racket on her haphazard way out of the door.

"Uh, whoa, Holy Jesus balls…I-mean…YES, of course!"

Quinn laughs as she tugs Rachel off of the bed, the two women smiling as they follow Natalie out into the sunlight.

- {||||||||} -

The two women approach, they're still just a few feet behind Natalie. But they've gotten more than a few double takes on their way through the campgrounds. One camper literally drops the art supplies in her hands and freezes on the spot – staring at the two of them in wonder. They smile at her and wave before passing by and making their way to the outdoor basketball court where a medium sized group of about seven Pines are seated on the asphalt in a circle, gossiping with one another.

"Hey ladies!" Natalie calls out upon her arrival, the girls all turn and wave her over and smile, all of them still half immersed in whatever conversations were going on before the interruption. They don't pay attention to Quinn or Rachel as they approach, writing them off as standard visitors or camp parents perhaps. It isn't until Quinn and Rachel are right there, and sitting down at the lone picnic table that someone actually pauses.

"So, like…me and Mike are thinking about making this thing official after the summer ends."

"How is that gonna work though Mel? I mean, you live in New York and he lives in…..wait, where does he live again?"

"Georgia." Two other girls answer at the same time.

"Well…it could be worse."

"Yea, It's ju –" The girl by the name of Mel stops mid sentence, having finally looked up she sees the two women sitting on the picnic table, immersed in a bright conversation. They look damn familiar, and she squints her eyes for a second - because _it can't be_.

"Mel? Wh -" another girl in the circle follows Mel's line of sight and stops, tilting her head like a puppy dog as a gasp falls from her lips. The rest of the circle of Pines all quiet as they stare at the two women at the picnic table; Natalie approaches the circle with a smile on her face as she takes a seat, a basketball set down in her lap. She turns and waves at Quinn and Rachel, ushering them over to join their group on the asphalt and the two women smile as they get up and move forward. It takes a few seconds, and they're all spent in silence as fourteen pairs of shocked eyes follow Quinn and Rachel's every move, down to their shared seating on the ground among the circle.

"Hello everyone." Rachel waves, a broad smile encompassing her face as she takes in all of the young faces.

"Hi." Quinn mimics as she takes a seat beside her wife, sandwiched in between Rachel and Natalie.

"This is Quinn and Rachel, they're joining us for basketball today." Natalie raises her eyebrows, a sly grin on her face. The girls all stare blankly…and suddenly…everything is _loud_.

"OHMYFUCKINGGOD..oh shit, HOLY SHIT."

"You – You're – I can't believe it, I –WHAT?"

"I HAVE TO TELL MY MOM! She'll flip a shit!"

Quinn and Rachel both wince and nod along to the expletives and gasps being thrown in their direction. They smile through it for a few seconds before Quinn raises her hand out and lowers it, signaling them all to _calm down_.

"…I think I can definitely say that introductions probably aren't necessary." She smiles. The girls in the group all laugh shakily and nod their heads.

"But if we're going to be polite here…" Quinn continues, "Hi, I'm Quinn and this…is Rachel." Rachel waves again.

"Yea, as in Quinn fucking Fabray and Rachel goddamn Berry…holy shit." One of the girls exclaims around a laugh. Natalie clears her throat dramatically for a second before bouncing the basketball around her legs. "Keep it PG, I know this is fucking insane – oops, I mean _really _insane…but there are younger girls around who look up to you. So swearing stays at a minimum."

"I know, we're sorry Nat. But c'mon…this doesn't happen every day."

"Yea…like…they're _right _there."

"I need a moment to process."

"I just need somebody to pinch me."

"Fucking Ditto."

"Ladies…_swearing_."

"Oh yea…sorry Nat."

It takes another five minutes for the girls to all regain their bearings…and once they do, they're all questions and gossip. They inquire about exaggerated tabloid reports and they ask about how it was to work with hunks like Logan Lerman and screen goddesses like Chloe Moretz. When the storm finally settles, the discussion comes back to Pinewood, and how the camp's changed since 2007.

"It's really pretty different, I mean this basketball court is totally re-vamped and they definitely added some extensions onto some of the cabins…but it still feels like home. More so than any place else." Rachel tells them. They all smile and nod their head, all of them having the ability to relate to that exact statement.

"So…why are you both visiting together? We thought you guys weren't even friends…at least that's what's been said about the two of you since forever. Even the rumors about you two here when you were campers…are less than spectacular." Mel asks as she pushes a basketball lazily around her feet. Natalie coughs dramatically and Rachel pats her on the back to help her clear her throat. Quinn looks to Rachel and raises an eyebrow, Rachel shrugs.

"We're…actually married." Natalie coughs more violently now, Mel drops the gum she's been chewing out of her mouth.

"NO FUCKING WAY." Another girl gasps.

"Oh my God they aren't lying, look at their hands! They both have on matching rings." Quinn nods, Rachel smiles. It takes another five minutes to re-calm down the girls, and once they do – the questions are like rapid fire. And it's at this moment that Rachel clears her throat, quieting them…she smiles deviously for a moment before smoothing out her jeans.

"Well…we were actually wondering…if you all were interested in a story…"

Sixteen pairs of legs scoot closer as the sun overhead peeks out from behind the clouds.


	6. Chapter 6

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(September)**

* * *

Quinn's birthday is today.

A bouquet of fourteen Azalea's rests on the kitchen counter, an immaculate card pinned to the vase. She doesn't bother opening it, or waiting for her parents to greet her as they make their way into the kitchen. Instead she simply grabs her book bag, and walks out of the door.

- {||||||||} -

She checks her Facebook during lunch in the school library and sees a couple of well wishes on her big day. She isn't supposed to have a Facebook at all, and so she doesn't have a picture, or that many friends really after becoming _Quinn_. But she can see the little icon and the bright smile and brunette hair on her wall, the words written there are loud and exuberant, and she smiles:

**Rachel Berry wrote on your wall:** _QUINN FABRAY! I MISS YOU MORE THAN WORDS COULD POSSIBLY EXPRESS (I'll stop with the caps lock now)…but really, I miss you soooooo much, and I couldn't be happier to wish you the best 14__th__ birthday in the world. You deserve it, if I had your address I would mail over your gift this second (ahem!) but at the very worst, you'll be seeing it next summer. And YOU WILL be back next summer, it's not an option. I wouldn't be able to go back without you._

_Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you so much! :D_

From around the corner a crowd of eighth graders approaches, all of them loud and wild – popularity seeps out of their pores in waves…undulating onto the soft library floor. Quinn bristles, closing the page and tilting back her shoulders. A dark brunette approaches her first, a devilish smile on her lips as she moves forward. She's tan, this girl, and dark – lean. Everything Quinn has always aspired to be, and from the first opportunity she had of making a name for herself here at Hoover Middle School…she took advantage. Beginning her quest for power with the girl now standing just to her left…Santana Lopez.

"Fabray." Quinn raises an eyebrow non-committedly, her hazel eyes steely and reserved. To everyone else at this school she's a mysterious creature, the beautiful, thin, blonde new girl from somewhere far away from Lima – they assume that it's power that's hiding behind those eyes. But to those of her friends who really know her…the ones scattered all over, with summer air still in their hair and easy smiles on their lips– the ones from Pinewood – they would have been able to see right through her. They would have been able to smell the fear, the possibility of failure - Especially Rachel Berry.

"Lopez." Quinn nods.

"Pre-screenings for McKinley Cheer are later today at the high school. I'll see you there." It's not really a question, more of a command. Quinn rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. She's been preparing for this moment for months – the opportunity to make it onto Coach Sylvester's yearlong training wheel squad. A spot on the team doesn't even guarantee you a position on the Cheerios next year as a freshman…but it's an introduction. It's just what Quinn needs - and she won't let them see her eagerness. The blonde, blue-eyed girl from behind Santana smiles brightly, nodding her head enthusiastically; Quinn thinks her name is Brittany; the blonde doesn't talk much – so she isn't quite sure.

"I guess you will." Quinn replies coolly.

"Sylvester's a grade A bitch, be prepared. She only takes the best as incoming freshman next year." Santana takes a moment to scan Quinn up and down, from crown to feet, there's an odd linger in the brunette's eye that strikes Quinn as odd, but the darker skinned brunette shakes it off with a grimace. "You's best be prepared, _chica_."

"I would tell you the same."

This gets a smirk from the thin brunette, an appraisal for her quick snark – things like that are appreciated here at Hoover – the girls here are catty and mean – they pine against one another for the top spot at popularity. It's just like Belleville, but this time Quinn has a new beginning…she isn't Lucy, she isn't a brunette…she has contacts now, and a lean form. A year of hard self-mutilating work, all forgotten over the summer, swings back in full force now that Quinn sits among wolves. She realizes that the girls here will never really care about her – she's as disposable as anything else could be. Rachel would be ashamed of her…she bites her lip and opens up her Facebook page again once the crowd is gone. She has five new wall posts:

**Avery Davis wrote on your wall:** _Happy Birthday Q-Fab! I miss your face like crazy you creeper. Have the best day ever! 3333_

**Grace Rokova wrote on your wall: **_Happy Birthday Quinn! I love you lots, and hope you have a great day. Remember! Stay in touch! You're terrible at it haha._

**Sky Harris – Stein wrote on your wall: **_Happy Birthday loser! JK! You're my favorite little loser ever. Anyway, I hope you're having the best day ever! Eating cake in your honor, candles included!_

**Veronica Alvarez – Baza wrote on your wall: **_Feliz dia de cumple! K tendras una dia genial. Besitos! _

**Tegan Hass wrote on your wall: **_Happy Birthday Quinn! 14! Yayyyyyy!_

The bell suddenly rings and Quinn bites her lip, shutting off the browser. She grabs her book bag, and waves to the librarian on her way out – smiling all the way to 5th period.

- {||||||||} -

She tries so hard not to compare herself to the girls around her. They're toned, flat stomachs, defined legs – she's staring and she can't help herself, she can't help the way that her eyes scan closely just as her hands wrap tighter around her body towel. It's disconcerting how perfect these aspiring Cheerios are, much less the real ones practicing a field over. Francesca is over there now, it's her Senior year, she was captain at Bel-Air in their old town, and now…well, she'll probably make the team. Quinn takes a breath and removes the hold around her towel, letting it drop to the bench slowly, like a falling leaf of heavy paper. She hurries to put on her shorts. And then there's an icy familiar voice just over her right shoulder and she jumps, almost hitting her head on her open locker door.

"Fabray."

Santana is standing there in frilly underwear and a matching frilly bra. The brunette must think her own cotton bra simply archaic in comparison. Whatever the case may be, her own eyes narrow, catching Santana's brown ones flit from Quinn's feet to her chest in a matter of milliseconds. Any other day, she would have said that in this moment, Santana Lopez is sizing her up – except once their eyes meet, there's a soft throat clearing from the dark brunette before those even darker eyes harden maliciously.

"What are you looking at, Chastity Queen? Eyes up…we don't want any mishaps out there on the field…or wandering eyes."

"Get over yourself Santana." Quinn smirks. She's almost positive she's found a weak spot, and however vindictive of her it may be to use it against the girl…she's glad that she has something of such profound meaning just waiting in her artillery. Because girls don't just check other girls out without pre-amble…unless they're in aiming for Boston lifestyle - as her own mother would say, with a shake of her bun and scowl on her lip.

"Just wishing you good luck…break a leg. Literally." Santana trills as she turns around. Brittany is just behind her off to the side of the row of lockers, she smiles happily at Quinn before waltzing away in a blur of blue eyes and blonde hair. Quinn doesn't miss the way that Santana locks their pinkies behind her back.

Quinn bites her lip and turns forward, grabbing for her tank top with a furrow to her brow.

"Always such a charm talking with you Santana." She mumbles to no one in particular as she heads for the locker room door, Nalgene bottle in hand.

- {||||||||} -

It's breezy out today, and Quinn can feel the wind whipping the wisps of hair that have fallen out of her ponytail. She smiles through it, going through drills without a word of complaint. She feels like fainting, almost as though her lungs will just collapse and cave in upon themselves…but she's the first to finish on the track, and the first to lead in drills. Sue Sylvester is a demon-woman she's sure of it…. but Quinn Fabray has too much to prove to throw it all away over a few hurt feelings. Santana is out for her head, she comes in second in every drill, every run…she eyes Quinn with calculating eyes every time they have a 5 second break…which has only been once all afternoon. Sue Sylvester is trying to kill them all …she's sure.

"Sloppy pre-pubescent babies. You disgust me with your acne riddled filth!" Sue's been reaming out insult after insult on her megaphone throughout the entire practice, a scowl on her face and her whistle nestled disdainfully between her lips. After their third mile run of the afternoon, Quinn falls to her knees on the field. An array of bodies follow suit as they all pass the finish line, Santana is to her left, hair whipped around most of her face.

"That was pathetic! Hit the showers babies, you smell of the rotting dumpsters behind the school cafeteria."

Quinn tries to catch her breath, but instead lurches forward with another gust of wind. She catches herself with a hand to steady her weight on the grass…and then she heaves. Her ears pop as her stomach convulses, she can slightly make out the feel of someone retching just across from her…she's sure that nearly all of them are _this_ close to heat stroke. She shudders for a moment, her body shaking before she spits and shakes her head, sitting up from the grass. She can see Santana in her peripheral still retching by the track gate, some of the other girls have fallen out onto the grass in states of pain and relief. And when Quinn finally manages to stand up, she wobbles for a second before grasping onto the fence running along the outside of the McKinley track. And when she looks up…

There's Rachel Berry.

In her freaking Cabin 22 _Berrylicious_ Hoodie. She looks a combination of panicked and altogether ecstatic. Her hair billows around her face as she reaches Quinn, raising her hands to pull the blonde wisps of hair away from her face.

"W-w – am I hallucinating?"

"No, that's silly Quinn…you're just appallingly dehydrated and you have no food in your stomach, here." Rachel reaches into her bag and pulls out an Oat N' Honey bar, nearly shoving it into Quinn's face as she guides the blonde past the fence. In a matter of minutes Rachel Berry has Quinn sitting on the bleachers, two water bottles in hand and another granola bar in her mouth. The field's been cleared since Rachel's altogether surprising arrival and Quinn closes her tired eyes before laying down to rest her head on Rachel's knees.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn mumbles groggily as her eyes close. She can feel small hands running through her hair – which is kind of disgusting really because her hair is all sweaty and stringy now. She let's Rachel keep going regardless, it feels too good.

"I help out with Lima Children's Choir after school during the fall and winter. They practice in the McKinley High School Auditorium…I usually come out here and watch practice while I wait for my Dad once I'm done."

"Mmm…" Quinn hums. There's a silence between them for a moment, Rachel's hand stops moving in Quinn's hair. The blonde opens her eyes hazily for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me you lived in Lima, Quinn?" Rachel says softly. The blonde is almost positive she can hear hurt behind those words, a wobbly voice, almost tears. She sighs to herself for a moment as her eyes close. She shrugs her shoulders and sniffles her nose for a moment before answering.

"I didn't want you to think differently of me if you ever met me outside of camp." Rachel furrows her eyebrows and wipes at the edges of her eyes. "I'm not the same person during the year Rachel...you're my best friend, and I don't think if I deserve you."

"You're my best friend too, Quinn…and that means that we're in this together." Quinn lets her eyes rest, a slow smile creeping onto her lips. She nods her head slowly; small hands roam through her messy ponytail again.

"So what school are you going to, liar liar pants on fire?" Quinn snorts at the nickname, but she'll take it – she did lie to Rachel after all about living in Lima, she deserves worse really. She's glad that Rachel isn't pressing the issue, the girl always knows when to leave things alone – it's a skill that most people haven't mastered about Quinn – Rachel's the only one who understands.

"Hoover. Where are you?"

"Harrison."

"Oh, I've heard of that one. We play you in sports and stuff I think, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"Do you like it there?"

There's a long silence this time, the longest one between them yet. Quinn opens her eyes and turns her head up to look at Rachel. The brunette has her hands resting at her sides on the metal bleachers, her eyes trained up at the hazy clouds overhead, her lips pouted into a thin line. She looks down and sees Quinn staring at her and offers up her best try for a smile, but Quinn can see right through it – transparency is catching – and on Rachel Berry, it's something entirely unbecoming.

"Rachel?"

"Y-Yea, yea…I mean it's eighth grade Quinn. There isn't much to say, every middle school is the same. The same hierarchy, the same mean girls…the same everything." She says. Her breath leaving in quick bursts as her eyes try and refocus on something far away - Her bottom lip shakes.

"Are…they aren't mean to you there are they?" Rachel lowers her head and bites her trembling lip, real solid tears escaping those large eyes now. She shakes her head and squints her eyes, but it only makes it worse…the brunette crumples altogether, hands moving to cover her face. Quinn is quick to sit up; she sits down next her, enfolding her arms around the girl…bringing her into her small frame completely. She let's her chin rest atop Rachel's hair as she whispers soft condolences quietly into the breeze.

"I'm sorry." Rachel mumbles around a hiccup.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn whispers.

"At camp…it's a different world Quinn. I can be myself. I can be weird, Broadway hopeful, eccentric Rachel Berry – and I'm applauded,_ loved_ for being who I am. But camp is an anomaly Quinn…my life is so much different. They _hate me_ here.

"They just don't understand you." Rachel sniffles quietly against Quinn's shirt. They sit there for a while like that, collapsed into one another. The field is empty, and the sun begins to fall slowly beyond the horizon. Rachel checks her watch and sits up quickly, adjusting her hair and wiping at her eyes. Quinn watches her quietly for a few seconds.

"What is it?"

"My Dad will be here soon to pick me up." Rachel grabs her book bag and then freezes, a smile taking over her face. It's a wonderful respite from the earlier tears and Quinn smiles softly as she looks up at her.

"You…do you have a ride?" Rachel asks bashfully.

Quinn looks over past the Track towards the backfield just past the fence. The McKinley Cheerio Squad tryouts are still taking place and she can see Frannie at the front of the pack – perfect lean body moving with cool grace. She points in that general direction and scrunches her eyebrows.

"See that blonde girl? That's my older sister Francesca…she's a senior now at McKinley."

"She looks like she's really good at that cheerleading stuff."

"Yea…."

"Do you…are you waiting for her to finish with her tryouts?"

"No. She doesn't even know I'm here." Rachel studies Quinn with a worried curiosity for a second before nodding her head. She watches Quinn Fabray for a second in silence, studying every melancholy groove of the girls face. She makes the decision after a moment that will propel them forward, in a world set apart from the one that they fashioned together in Pinewood with their friends. Quinn looks up curiously when she feels Rachel pulling her up by the hand.

"Come on, my Dad'll take you home. Maybe you can even join us for dinner."

"I don't know...I.."

"C'mon liar liar pants on fire, it's the least you could do."

- {||||||||} -

Quinn's parents aren't home when she arrives and so she leaves a note and a voicemail on her sister's cell. The Berry's live on the other side of town, nestled in the center of a small cul de sac. The Berry men remember her, and hug her until her world practically shatters. They stuff her with veggie stir fry and Crystal Lite…they send her up to Rachel's bedroom after dessert for homework. And Quinn smiles all the way through it, she's sitting on top of Rachel's bed now, sated and tired – still in need of a shower. They're in the middle of laughing through a few episodes of That's So Raven when Rachel's eyes widen and she jumps up off of the bed. Quinn watches curiously as the brunette runs to her closet and starts digging through the drawers and hangers. When she emerges, her hands are tucked behind her back and there's an impish grin on her face.

"What are you doing?" Rachel walks up closer and lowers herself onto the bed again. When she looks up, she stares directly into Quinn's eyes with a smile on her lips.

"I know you…you don't like spectacles. Which is _soooo_ hard for me, since that's what I live for. So you have no idea how hard it was for me not to attack you when I saw you at the field today…or tell my Dad's that it was your birthday for that matter. I haven't forgotten, I just didn't think you'd appreciate the drama of it all." Quinn stares, mouth open as Rachel pulls a small parcel from behind her back.

"Happy Birthday Quinn."

It's a tiny little box, wrapped in Fruit decorated gift-wrapping paper. Quinn takes it slowly and pulls at the tape. Inside is a small jewelry box – per Rachel's insistence she opens it, and inside rests the prettiest charm bracelet she's ever seen. There are already three charms on it, one of a tree, another of a sun, and the last one is one half to a heart…the word "Best" etched into the metal.

"Rachel…this is so beautiful. You didn't…I can't take this."

"Quinn it's your _birthday_, so of course you can. And secondly…I saved up my allowance from the rest of the summer, and I even used some of my saved up birthday money to get it. I have a matching one too see…" She holds up her wrist, and there it is a matching charm bracelet, the charms differ only slightly, with the addition of a small microphone to rest along with the other three. A twin heart with the word "Friends" stands out against the rest of the metal.

Quinn smiles brightly. She hugs Rachel deeply, laughing when the brunette insists to be the one to put it on Quinn's wrist. They sit closer now, Quinn's head resting in Rachel's lap once again as the credits to That's So Raven ring out into the room.

It's another half and hour or so before the phone is ringing downstairs, and the Berry Men appear at the landing to Rachel's bedroom door. They smile at the two girls asleep on the bed, and move over to wake them slowly.

"Hey Quinn, your Mom called…your sister's here to pick you up." Quinn mumbles groggily before nodding. She sits up and grabs for her shoes and book bag, Rachel watches her with sleepy eyes before donning her own pair of puppy slippers. The Berry's walk the blonde to the front door and out to the driveway where a BMW hums softly with the headlights on. Quinn turns around and hugs the men goodbye, stopping at Rachel. They smile at one another softly before Quinn reaches forward – wrapping her arms around Rachel's warm body.

"Thanks for my gift Berrylicious…this was the best birthday ever."

"You're welcome Q-Fab." Rachel whispers into her shoulder. They laugh together for a second before Quinn lets go, following the flickering headlights of her sister's car. She waves once again before getting into the passenger seat, and she looks over at Francesca – the elder Fabray smiles hollowly at the Berry family before backing out of the driveway and disappearing into the Lima evening. Once they hit the first light, the smile falls and cold hazel eyes too much like her own zero in with calculated apprehension.

"You can't hang out with them anymore." Quinn's own smile falls, she looks up at her sister. They're stopped at a red light, and a frown pulls itself around Frannie's face, her eyes falling with a sigh.

"Rachel's my friend, her Dad's are great people."

"Quinn…listen. Mom didn't call them, I did. I got your message and did damage control…Mom and Dad can't know where you've been – they can't know that you've been seen hanging out with the city lepers, Quinn."

"They aren't _lepers_, Fran." Her voice rising, teary ire swirling within her hazel eyes.

"Quinn…I – I don't say it often, and I don't show you enough. But I love having your as my little sister, I loved Lucy even more than I ever let on. I'm the way I am _because_ of Mom and Dad. They're crazy, and people in this town are cruel. I don't give a shit who a person sleeps with, or who a person chooses to love…but Mom and Dad do. They'll rip you apart for befriending them."

"But she's my best friend." Quinn whispers, the tears that have collected, falling unprotected from her bottom lashes. Francesca sighs dejectedly, a hand reaching up to brush her side bangs out of her eyes.

"Alright…I won't tell if you won't okay? It's about time you actually had some real friends that weren't just your stuffed animals and your copies of Nancy Drew. Just…be careful."

"You won't?" Quinn questions, a few sniffles escaping. Frannie smiles sadly.

"What kind of big sister do you think I am?"


	7. Chapter 7

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(October)**

* * *

_Dear Journal,_

_The best liars in the world are probably the loneliest of people. _

_- Q_

She makes the preliminary squad. As do Santana and Brittany…there are only six members of the original thirty who originally came to try outs. It's only the third week, and Quinn's already lost ten pounds…all muscle tone. She'd already lost the Lucy baby fat the year before, taken gymnastics…but Sue Sylvester…is not human – she can't be. It's stressful, having to work so hard for something so shallow. But Quinn can feel the power radiating out of her pores with every successful practice completed – with every mile that she's finished in the lead. Santana almost hates her purely on principle – but Quinn's learned that Brittany has the brunette on a rather tight leash, whether the blue eyed blonde realizes it or not.

J. Edgar Hoover Middle School is much like Quinn's old school, hell any middle school in the center of Middle America. The people are vindictive, the social outcasts, lepers. And with every passing afternoon, when the final bell rings – Quinn Fabray breathes just a little bit easier. Another day, another battle won. It's hard for her – holding out for something so far away. It's only October, and the summer season doesn't begin until late June at best. 244 days.

She's counting.

- {||||||||} -

"Do you miss it?" Rachel asks just before crunching her feet on a large pile of crackled leaves, nestled just beneath the black cherry tree in her backyard.

"Miss what?" Quinn peers up from the grass, eyes half-lidded and sleepy. Rachel's feet stop crunching abruptly and she sits down at Quinn's side, hands folded softly within her lap.

"…Everything." She breathes. Quinn closes her eyes and smiles somberly. Her hair billows out around her crown in a halo of golden silk.

"All the time."

- {||||||||} -

If Francesca Fabray is nothing else, she is loyal. She is meticulous in her secrecy, covering up late arrivals home with study groups and late Cheerio practices at the High School. She poses as Judy Fabray over the telephone too many times to count…she smiles sadly at the world that she lives in – at the fact that her parents are bigots.

But she drives the car. Twice a week… 5 minutes, 3 miles. She drives the car to pick up her little sister from her best friend's house in secrecy twice a week.

She can't help it. She loves her.

And on Thursday when she finds herself waving goodbye to the little brunette at the door of the Berry family's simple, yet welcoming home – she can't help but feel that sometimes people are wrong. Sometimes little brunettes with big hearts and equally big voices, and two same sex parents are even more worthy of respect than the people who judge them. Because Lucy is loved here…and she's happy.

So Franny drives. And she keeps her mouth shut.

If only for a little redemption, and a lot of peace.

- {||||||||} -

"What are you looking at?" Quinn inquires from behind Matt Highmore and Jodie Signet – Monday morning, second period U.S. History. The lights are dimmed and Mr. Yeager is lecturing on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911. The projector is bright and illuminating in the small classroom. Matt turns around quickly, searching out the voice that echoed from behind him before his eyes settle on inquiring hazel. He clears his throat and smiles broadly – Quinn Fabray has never spoken to him before. He relishes in the moment, trying to deepen his voice like his older brother taught him.

"Uh…(clears throat), h-hey Q-Quinn."

Jodie Signet is unimpressed. She rolls her eyes and turns around, meeting Quinn's gaze. The two girls know one another, both having tried out for Sylvester's Cheerio squad – Jodie didn't make the cut, but she still harbors a defining rank in the school's hierarchy, if only just barely.

"It's nothing, Fabray."

"Doesn't look like nothing." Matt smiles smugly and sneaks his cell phone underneath the desk, passing it to Quinn Fabray with a smirk on his lips. Jodie scoffs and turns back around in her seat, she taps her pencil against her desk with unmasked irritation. Matthew Highmore is on the school basketball team. Quinn knows this because she sees them practice after school on her way through the back lot. She also knows that Matt and his friends are the local pyros who've been making a name for themselves by setting fire to abandoned houses around Lima. Santana let it slip once before practice, and Quinn never really cared – but the information has always loomed just in the background of her mind. Santana also let it slip that Matt and his friends hide some of their flares and lighters at school. The brunette having found out after dating Lloyd Baker for a _long_ two weeks back in September, Matt is one of the tame ones in comparison – but Quinn's seen him twiddle a pocket knife under his desk more than once during second period. And really, it's none of Quinn's business, but the information has been burning in the back of her mind for some time now. Perhaps waiting for the perfect moment to unleash itself. She smiles grimly at Matt and grabs the cell phone from his hands to look down at the screen. It's a picture. She squints her eyes and scrolls down curiously.

It's a picture of Rachel.

"What is this?" She whispers…it's mostly an admonition to herself, but Matt hears her and smiles again. "Rachel Berry. Ring a bell? Maybe not…" He whispers. "She's batshit, and her parents are faggots…literally. She goes to the YMCA sometimes on the weekends. And yesterday me and some of the guys from the basketball team were there hanging out and we decided to say hi…pay our respects." Quinn looks down at the picture once again. There's Rachel Berry huddled on a bench with her legs cradled up to her chin, and her head buried between her knees. At least a dozen stink bomb wrappers are littered around her feet, one of them is stuck in her hair. Two boys can be seen in the frame…Quinn recognizes them instantly. But they aren't the only ones…just the only ones stupid enough to be caught on camera.

"You did this?" Matt smirks and shrugs his shoulders proudly.

"I mean I took the picture." Quinn's eyes blaze, and her voice thickens from within her throat. She can feel a steady hum shaking her from within. She has to fight to keep her voice level, but all she sees are shades of red, and white…. embers sparkling beneath a growing flame.

"Are you actually upset?" Jodie turns around and sneers. "Berry's a loser. She was a loser when she went to Granville Elementary with us a few years ago, and she's still a loser over at Harrison. Nothing's changed. Get over it Quinn."

There's a rage burning from within the blonde's chest, it's something that Lucy never would have been able to conjure – she was weak, simple. But _Quinn_ is none of those things. She balls her hands into tight fists over her thighs before raising her hand during Mr. Yeager's slide show presentation. The bespectacled man stutters for a moment before addressing Ms. Fabray with curious brown eyes.

"Do you have a question, Quinn?"

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Yeager." Quinn pouts her lips and furrows her eyebrows before pointing to Matt Highmore with an accusatory finger. Matt shakes his head in confusion as he looks between Quinn and Mr. Yeager with an eerie trepidation. Quinn smirks almost unnoticeably before continuing. "Matt has a pocket knife hidden in his backpack, he also has a lighter, two packs of cigarettes, and a can of mace in his gym locker." Matt's eyes widen as he stands up, fire pouring from his lips.

"She's LYING! What the HELL!"

"Quinn, you can't just falsely accuse your classmates blindl -"

"Mr. Yeager…check his backpack. I'm not lying."

Jodie's mouth is agape, she stares in horror as Mr. Yeager confiscates Matt's backpack, dumping the contents out on top of the boys desk. A few notebooks fall out, along with a school planner, and some old chewing gum wrappers. The last thing to hit the desk is a wooden 2 and a quarter inch polished pocket knife. The entire classroom looks on with quiet eyes as the slides continue to play on the PowerPoint timer. In the background, illuminated by the projector, is a photo of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory up in flames…

Somehow, it's oddly telling.

Matt Highmore is escorted to the Principles office – by the end of the day his locker is searched by school officials...they find one can of mace, two lighters, a sparkler, and a flare. Matt Highmore, is expediently expelled.

Jodie Signet, has never been more terrified of Quinn Fabray than she is now.

And somehow, Quinn feels even worse than she did before sending Matt to the chopping block, she feels monstrous – so unlike Lucy Quinn.

So unlike Lucy Quinn.

But Rachel Berry…is worth it.

Quinn walks home with her head held high on her shoulders, and her fingers meticulously tensed around the straps of her book bag…her eyes blazon, and her lips willed into a straight, even, monstrous line.

- {||||||||} -

"I did something that I'm not proud of this morning."

Rachel looks up at Quinn with large doe eyes, her hand slows as she finishes a drawing of a strawberry on Quinn's now long healed ankle (which gets wrapped every afternoon ever since Quinn started practicing with Sue's squad). The brunette bites the corner of her bottom lip curiously but says nothing. Quinn stares at the red strawberry held in stark contrast to the pale, bony-ness of her ankle and blinks once, twice, before letting her lips fall into a melancholic frown.

"It must be bad." Rachel muses quietly.

"Why do you say that?" Rachel shakes her head before sitting up and grabbing at her jacket to play with the zipper. "I haven't seen you make a face like this since you had to tell me about your family during Parent's weekend. It's - how do I say this...It was fairly sad. I don't think I like this look on you."

"I have a look?" Quinn raises a conspiratorial eyebrow as Rachel nods.

"Oh absolutely. Remember that one time during camp when Sky came back from having a shaving cream fight down by the river? She was all muddy and gross, and then she borrowed your towel without asking?"

"Yea…oh my gosh that was disgusting. My towel was permanently stained."

"I remember." Rachel pauses for a moment. "But the _look _of horrified disgust on your face when you realized that she was wiping off all of that mud and grass and shaving cream with _your_ towel…it was unforgettable. You have a very expressive face." Quinn turns to look out of Rachel's bedroom window as she bites her lip. "Which is why I can tell that whatever it is you're about to tell me, is probably going to be something that I won't like." Quinn sighs, her eyes turning a light green in the reflection of the streetlights beyond the paned glass.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the worst..."

"I got someone expelled today." Rachel's lips part and her eyebrows sag together. She stares at Quinn from beneath disappointed eyes before shaking her head.

"Quinn…" Rachel says her name with an abundance of heaviness, like the name is thick and viscous on her tongue. She swallows, trying to wash away the bitterness, and only manages a sharp wince. The blonde is quick to sit up straighter, eyebrows arched, tongue slick with accusations and excuses for her behavior – because disappointment is an old friend, and Lucy hates all of her long forgotten friends of old.

"I – I didn't mean to, he was a _jerk _Rachel. He was a _mean _boy."

"That's no excuse, Quinn. What could he have done to you to deserve that?" Rachel looks a mixture of disappointed and disbelieving, and Quinn's temper is rising.

"Does it matter? He was being cruel -"

"And you weren't?" The words sting, especially coming from Rachel's lips, and Quinn faintly realizes that her throat stings, and her chest feels tight; her vision is foggy, and she's only several blinks away from tear-fall. Quinn looks over at Rachel's desk, and sees the framed photo of Cabin 22 sitting amongst other belongings. She clears her throat quietly before meeting Rachel's gaze.

"He helped them hurt you." Rachel shakes her head, confusion on her face.

"He…took pictures. He watched while all of his friends threw stink bombs and trash at you. So you're not allowed to be angry with me…because you're my best friend Rachel. And why didn't you tell me that the bullying was this bad?" Rachel's eyes widen, she backs away for a second, her thin fingers fall away and she's left to stare at the vibrant red fruit she'd managed to draw on Quinn's skin. It's bold and accusatory as she sinks down to the floor, letting her head flop back onto the bed as she closes her eyes.

"You're…you're practically the most popular girl at school I bet." Rachel muses sadly.

"Those people aren't my friends, and I'm not popular. The reason why I'm not bullied over at Harrison is because those kids are scared of me. And after today, I just - I'm pretty sure I've made it worse for myself. That school _hates _me, but they tolerate me –"

"—because you're beautiful."

"—because I made squad."

Quinn lifts her head slowly. Her lips part but nothing really comes out. Rachel's brown eyes flit from left to right as she swallows thickly.

"I'm not beautiful. I'm ugly…I _was_ ugly. Did you know that?" Rachel shakes her head slowly. "Yea, I was overweight, and I wore glasses." Quinn points to her eyes and laughs hollowly. "Contacts." Rachel bites her lip. "I used to be someone totally different, and…when we moved, I decided to change everything that everyone used to hate about me. And now I'm Quinn – but lately…" The blonde takes a moment to puff out a long breath of air, letting her diaphragm decompress before continuing. "Quinn seems to be even uglier than Lucy ever was…except when she's at camp…or when she's with you." Rachel nods her aid, she purses her lips and when she looks back up, it's with large sad eyes, and a slight tilt of her head.

"The Quinn Fabray that I know is perfect, and she's a good person. And she isn't some ugly girl. She's beautiful, inside and out." Quinn bites her lip and shakes her head, there's a weariness in her eyes that goes far beyond her years, and Rachel rubs at the strawberry on the blonde's ankle, smudging its outlines – calling for the blonde's attention. Quinn looks up sadly, she watches the smudges of ink circle around the one another, collect on the pad of Rachel's thumb.

"The Quinn Fabray that I know is a wonderful friend, and she has the hugest heart. And if only she'd let the rest of the world in, they'd know it as well. She is kind, she is loyal, and she's my very best friend in the whole wide world. She's all I need, more than the anger and the revenge, and the resentment…I don't need any of that – _she_ doesn't need any of that. She's too good to let herself drown for me. So don't let her, okay?" Quinn sniffles once, but no tears fall, she nods her head and fumbles a few fingers through the side bangs in her hair.

"Promise me you won't be mean to other people on my behalf." Rachel whispers. Quinn clenches her eyes shut and nods once, pursing her lips. When she opens them, the color of her irises are an almost golden brown. They burn and swirl, and Rachel knows that somewhere behind all of that color a beautiful mind is set to work, looking for loopholes within her words.

"I can't promise that Rachel. But I will promise that I'll try." Rachel nods reluctantly, that's the best that she can do at a moment like this. She knows that she must be asking for a lot by the way that Quinn coils and shifts uncomfortably on top of her bed.

"Promise me…that you'll let me hang out with you when you're out by yourself? Or at least call me?" And for the first time in the long tense moments that they've shared late this afternoon, Rachel has the will to smile. She winds her hand around Quinn's ankle, palm splayed fully across the smudged red strawberry, and she scratches the tips of her nails along the pale skin, her head nodding.

"Yes. I can do that."

"Thank you."

- {||||||||} -

"You're very mature for fourteen. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Quinn's eyes snap up as she turns around. Her hand rests on the door handle to the refrigerator, and she was just seconds away from scouting out the pitcher of fresh orange juice when she hears the deep familiar voice. It's warm and inviting, and Quinn bites her bottom lip and nods as she closes the refrigerator door.

"I've heard that once or twice."

Leroy Berry smiles from behind his reading glasses, and sets his book down on top of the kitchen counter. He motions to the other bar stool at the end of the counter top, and Quinn walks toward it, taking a seat.

"So…I see you've come to hide out in the kitchen like this old man, everything okay?" Leroy sips leisurely from a cup of something aromatic and steaming, it looks a lot like tea, and Quinn shakes her head. "No, not hiding per se." She smiles softly. "More like…_thinking._ Rachel fell asleep during _Pleasantville_ and I just…thought I'd grab some orange juice or something."

"Usually, I find that when I come to the kitchen alone…it's because I need some space to sort things out. Life isn't easy, and there are so many things to be happy about. For me, I find that happiness by being here with my family, or reading a new book. Some of us…need a little alone time in order to find that balance." Quinn nods in agreement; she twiddles her fingers in her pockets and shifts her socked feet along the bottom rung of her stool. She catches a glimpse of the smeared strawberry and smiles faintly.

"Mr. Berry…"

"Please, Leroy." He smiles. "Mr. Berry is my father."

"Right, Leroy…um, do you – is it wrong for someone to defend someone that they care about? Like…I mean. If someone you care about is being treated really badly, is it wrong to want to make the people who did it feel how they made your friend feel?" Leroy listens quietly; he sips once at his tea, before blowing out a deep lungful of air.

"You're asking me if revenge is something justifiable?" Quinn shrugs. Her hazel eyes are bright against the dim kitchen overhead lighting. "Quinn…let me tell you something that Hiram told me many, many years ago. You have to understand that Hiram and Rachel are very much alike…they're strong individuals with big hearts. They're far too easily trusting, and so heartbreakingly sensitive to the world around them. They want to feel at the heart of it all, they want to live vicariously; they are those people that you want to hate because they are so inherently good…that the world shatters when they break. And it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that they are _human. _I couldn't always be there to defend him; I won't always be there to defend her…because I too am human. You are human…and so what I've learned…is that we must show them kindness, be kind. Let them see the beauty of human resilience. I'm no fool Quinn - I know what Rachel goes through. I do what I can when I can, but when you have a school district that turns a blind eye, and a daughter too stubborn to leave the public system. You grit your teeth and you curse the world – but you let her do it, and you say…honey, some people out there are cruel, but remember where you come from, and remember that they are the way that they are, because they are either ignorant, troubled, or some combination of the two. Remember that I am here, and that I love you. And so every morning I tell her those words, and somehow…I wish for the best."

"But…"

"And in the evenings after my daughter's gone to bed, I go to the garage and I take my frustrations out on my punching bag and old weightlifting equipment. Sometimes I lose myself down there for hours at a time, and when I emerge I come out sore and defeated. But if not that…it would be something else, and something more after that. And revenge Quinn – should never be a motivator." Quinn looks at Leroy with forlorn eyes, but she nods nonetheless, her head heavy atop her shoulders.

"I take it this is about the events this weekend at the Y?" Quinn nods.

"Like I said Ms. Fabray, I'm no fool. How did you come to find out about it? I'm almost positive Rachel wasn't the one to let word slip."

"A boy. A boy in my class, he was talking pretty loudly about something, and I was curious. I asked him to show me…and he had pictures of Rachel on his phone, covered in trash and stink bomb wrappers, cowering in a corner. He admitted to taking the photo…he called…never mind. I just – I was so mad Mr. Berry. I was so hurt, and I was angry. And you'll probably hate me after I tell you this."

"Quinn, I've probably done worse. You can be honest here, there is no judgment in this household." The blonde swallows nervously before nodding.

"Okay…well…I knew that he was a bad kid. I've heard about him and his friends being pyros and hiding stuff in their lockers. He also plays with a lighter during class most of the time. And I felt sort of stuck, because he was happy about what he'd done – he was boasting…so I ratted him out in front of the entire class about having a lighter and a pocket knife in his backpack…. I also sort of mentioned the flares and stuff in his locker. He was expelled. I told Rachel, and she wasn't happy with me."

Leroy lets out a long tired breath; his eyes suddenly much more weary than before.

"I'm not angry with you Quinn…or disappointed. But I want to ask you something, is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Did any of what you did today make you feel any better?"

"No."

"Did it make Rachel feel better?"

"No."

"Did it cancel out what happened to her this weekend?"

"No."

Leroy smiles sadly, and finishes the last swig of his tea.

"And what do you think that tells you?"

"That maybe…it didn't fix anything that I was hoping that it would fix. It made me feel like a monster too." Leroy nods and grabs his mug before standing up and walking over to the sink. He rinses out his cup and puts it in the dishwasher before grabbing a new glass and retrieving the orange juice from the refrigerator.

"You're very wise Quinn Fabray. From the very first time we had the opportunity of meeting at Pinewood – I knew that Rachel had made a wise choice in befriending you." Quinn swivels around in her stool slowly, her feet tapping methodically against the rungs. Leroy disappears from view for a moment, and when he reappears, tall glass of Orange Juice sits in his left hand.

"OJ, on the rocks." Leroy passes the glass over the counter, and Quinn takes it thankfully, the glass foggy beneath the warmth of her fingertips. Leroy closes the fridge, and tucks his hands into his front pockets, he makes his way back to his book and marks the page with a piece of stock paper. When he looks up, Quinn is still sitting at the counter, sipping on her orange juice. He shakes his head and smiles, motioning for the stairs with a flippant wave of his wrist.

"Now get back to _Pleasantville_, I'm sure a snoring Rachel is much more entertaining than me…and don't tell her that I said that she snores, I'll never hear the end of it."

And up Quinn goes, a glass halfway lighter, and a step free of the heaviness she carried when she had earlier descended.


	8. Chapter 8

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(November)**

* * *

Thanksgiving. Quinn smiles hollowly at her aunt and uncle who've just arrived from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They nod and give tight lipped smiles as their far from sensibly covered feet make way across the Fabray threshold. Rex Fabray is Russell's younger and leaner brother – the thick waves on his head are gelled into a perfect light brown part, and his teeth shine in an immaculate row when he smiles. Quinn looks more like her uncle Rex than she does her very own father…perhaps it's the waves set naturally into his hair when it isn't gelled; or maybe the dirty blonde color of it, so unlike the almost platinum blonde/red of her fathers. His wife Patricia is even smaller than he is, and she walks around with a frown perpetually cemented on her face. She sneer/smiles upon seeing Quinn and Frannie, and narrows her eyes for a fraction of a second.

"I see you've lost weight since we last visited, Lucille." She turns to Frannie and raises her chin by the smallest of margins. "Francesca, we've heard nothing but good things." Frannie swallows back a grimace and smiles with tight lips as Patricia makes her way inside. Once her back is turned, Frannie sticks a finger into her mouth and gags. Quinn laughs.

- {||||||||} -

Quinn shifts to Frannie's right uncomfortably as she pushes peas around her plate with her fork. The silver utensil scrapes against the China plate, and Judy glares at her over the rim of a glass of Merlot. Her third. The older Frabray's sallow eyes are already beginning to swirl, and Quinn purses her lips, letting her fork drop to the table with delicate fingers.

"Rex, how are things over in that despicable state of yours." Russell laughs deeply over a glass of Scotch at the dinner table, and his younger brother billows loudly before engaging in a superficial conversation about the ins and outs of collegiate football. This happens every year, and Quinn listens forlornly as her father and her uncle debate the merits of Wolverines and Buckeyes over age-old whiskey and false smiles. Quinn's mind wanders for a moment as she studies the animated contours of her Father's outline. She can see the light gray beginning to peek in through the edges behind his ears and she scrunches her eyes – quietly surveying the man that she's grown so distant from in recent years. Once in a fit of Lucy fueled disappointment and resentment for the outcome of her less than spectacular gene development in comparison to the rest of her family, Quinn had looked up her Father's name in a registry:

Russell Alexander Fabray. _Russell; "Red- haired/fox-like." Alexander;"Defending man."_

At the time Quinn had though the name rather fitting for a man like her father. Strong Latin and Greek names…names of merit, innate power and cunning. She watches forlornly as said man laughs around another sip of Scotch. Quinn's eyes suddenly turn to Judy. The older blonde sips on the dregs of her almost empty glass of wine, her eyes lidded. What her mother never once mentioned soberly was the fact that her given name at birth wasn't Judith at all – Quinn had found one of her mother's old college yearbooks in the attic a few years ago on a bored Sunday afternoon and was shocked to see the woman that she thought she knew…was actually named Rebecca. With her fanned 80's college hair and wide smile…was a completely different woman than the one sitting before the younger blonde now. Rebecca Judith Fabray. _Rebecca; "bound/loyal/tied;" Judith; "of Judea."_

Quinn would laugh now; at the way her mother's tired eyes follow Russell's words with such loyalty…and with a smile hiding so much sadness. She moves on, her eye's settling on Rex as she scans her uncle's younger, more rigid face. He laughs at something that Patricia says and scoops a forkful of stuffing into his mouth. He's nothing like her father, but in so many ways he is. A college football star, the owner of a branch of businesses in Michigan, he's quite successful, and rather handsome. And yet that Fabray air of entitlement still radiates from him like a bad drug. A grimace pulls at Quinn's lips as she takes a sip from her glass of water.

Rex Eric Fabray. _Rex; "King." Eric; "Eternal Ruler." _A regal name for a seemingly regal man; the emotional disability of her father's father has only manifested itself within the rest of them like a weed; fortifying itself within their very lungs and rippling through them all like a vine. It's taken complete residence within the hearts of her father and her uncle -and for the women in her family, it's only crippled them. Quinn can feel it's seedlings digging roots, having taken hold once Lucy disappeared, she feels them inching up her spine, paving a way for the emotional coldness she knows she was born into. The Fabray way, she recoils physically into her seat and Frannie turns a curious eye in her direction, concern marring her features over a forkful of dark turkey meat. Francesca Elizabeth Fabray. _Francesca; "Free." Elizabeth; "God's promise."_

It's a fitting name for Frannie. She's grown to express everything that it means to have a name so synonymous with freedom. It's rather telling too, that Frannie isn't the witch that Quinn had always imagined her to be: the seemingly cold-hearted, older, more popular version of timid little Lucy Quinn. Francesca is the morning glory of the Fabray dynasty. And when she packs up her Cheerio uniform at the end of her four years, she will have the possibility of life ahead of her. A year ago, Lucy would be jealous. Today, Quinn is just sad. "But your beautiful Q," Frannie will tell her now as they get ready for school in the morning, hair mussed and teeth foamy with toothpaste. Quinn would hardly believe her, even when their hair color matches, their noses so similar now…the fullness of their bottom lips, the hazel of their eyes. But the years have only weathered the youngest Fabray daughter, and a beautiful morning glory she'll never be.

"At least I have camp." Quinn will say while she rinses her face with a bite to her bottom lip and a speedy departure from their shared restroom. It's with a sigh that Quinn smiles at her sister now, easing the concern off of the elder girls face. She scoops a bit of mashed potato and swallows it down with a hearty sip of water. Patricia eyes the small forkful of mashed potato all the way down as Quinn eats it, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. It seems as though at this dinner table, Lucy is more than just a memory.

_Lucille Quinn Fabray. Lucille; "Light." Quinn; descendant of Conn/to give counsel/intelligence."_

Quinn had cowered at her own name a year ago when she had searched it, ashamed that a name so luminous could belong to a young girl so cowardly. She frowns at Patricia and listens quietly as her father and her uncle excuse themselves for cigars. The women of the table suddenly left to drown themselves in the silence of their Thanksgiving feast.

- {||||||||} -

"_**Happy Thanksgiving, Quinn **__** - Rachel.**_" is the text message waiting for her when she's finally excused herself and said her goodbyes to her aunt and uncle. Quinn has since retreated to her room, letting herself disappear behind the old Chuck Berry vinyl spinning on her record player. It's been a few weeks since the Matt Highmore incident, and since then Rachel has come around, possibly with the help of Leroy. Things have gone back to normal outside of school, possibly better than normal with the holidays and Hanukkah approaching quickly. The two have decided to keep school at a steady distance, at least for now. It hasn't been easy, with Quinn still on the pre-Cheerio squad, and obligated to attend Cheerio events with Santana, Brittany and the other girls, but she manages with the help of Frannie.

She smiles down at the text message, letting the calmness of having heard from Rachel wash over her. It's a relaxation seldom before known to Quinn – but she revels in the peace of it all whenever Rachel is near.

"_**Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you too Berrylicious **__** - Q" **_

Quinn looks out through her bedroom window and watches the taillights to her uncle Rex's SUV pull out of their wide garage. The sun has already set in Lima, and a few stars can be seen in between the patches of foggy clouds littering the sky overhead.

"_**Thank you Quinn. How is/was your holiday? - Rachel"**_ Quinn stretches out on top of her comforter and sighs.

"_**Pretty forgettable. Hoping yours was way better? - Q"**_

"_**It was delightful. I'm so sorry that yours was lacking. - Rachel"**_

"_**It's fine, I swear. It's never that great…so. – Q" **_Quinn sits up for a moment to re-adjust the needle of her record player, it having gotten stuck and begun to skip. She looks up and can see the sun falling down beyond the horizon, and if she squints hard enough…she can see the Dorito billboard off of Main Street. It sits about two blocks east of Rachel's medium sized, but adequately sensible house. Quinn smiles to herself, and blinks as an idea suddenly strikes her.

"_**Rachel. What are you doing right now? – Q" **_It takes a minute for Rachel to respond, but by the time that she does, Quinn has already changed out of her dress and pulled on a pair of leggings and ripped jeans over them. She's struggling with the buttons of her pea coat and the frill of her scarf when her phone chimes from the inside of her wooly pocket.

"_**Uhm…I just finished playing Charades with my fathers. And now I'm in my room entertaining myself with **__A Rugrats Thanksgiving__**, why? – Rachel." **_

Quinn smiles at the idea of a laid back Rachel Berry laughing along to _Rugrats_ in her room. The blonde revels in the moment before grabbing her house keys and sneaking off down the back stairwell toward the garage. Her old Diamondback is positioned along the far wall, and Quinn reaches for it in the dark. She dusts it off with a gloved hand and opens the side door, letting herself out. The sky is a deep purple, and Quinn can see the Dorito Billboard illuminated by the large streetlights that shine along downtown Lima. She sits down and pulls the scarf over her nose and mouth, her right foot hits the kickstand, and with a steady push…she's down the street, riding off into the horizon.

- {||||||||} -

Quinn pulls herself to a stop. Her breath comes in short bursts of mist, and her hair swirls around her neck from within the confines of the loose ponytail that she put it in. She sets her bike down by the side fence out of site and peers up at the illuminated windows of the Berry residence with squinted eyes. She would throw something, like a pebble or a stick, but she can't remember which window is actually Rachel's. So instead she walks toward the ivy trellis bordering the far edge of the house, letting her hands latch onto the diamond planks of sturdy wood as she climbs up the scaling. She makes it to the first tier of roofing, and walks across the paneling, peeking inside each of the second floor windows curiously. The first window must be a guest bedroom, the lights are off and it looks rather unremarkable. Quinn moves on to the next one and peeks inside. Rachel Berry is sitting on her bed Indian style with a bowl of salted popcorn while she watches television. Quinn smiles to herself and takes a half step back, hiding herself from view. She grabs for her cellphone and hits the green button after selecting Rachel's name from her most recently called list.

"Hello?" Quinn watches as Rachel talks into her cellphone, pausing her TV in the process.

"Hi Rach." The brunette's eyes light up, and a light smile tugs at the corners of her lips once she realizes with whom she's speaking.

"Oh, hi Quinn. So you never texted me back, I was wondering what you were up to." Quinn shrugs in the chilly night air and clicks her tongue against the bottom row of her teeth.

"Oh you know…I felt like I needed a bike ride."

"A bike ride?" Rachel suddenly sounds skeptical. "Quinn, it has to be 30 degrees outside…at _least_."

"Oh it's okay, I already got it out of my system." From inside of her bedroom, Rachel Berry sits up and actually huffs, slapping her comforter in the process.

"Quinn Fabray, you will go home this instant and get out of the cold! Are you insane?" Quinn chuckles at the end of her receiver, she watches as it only aids in making Rachel Berry even more agitated.

"I uh, I'm a little ways from home, but…" Quinn takes this moment to sit up and rap her covered knuckles against the glass windowpane of Rachel Berry's bedroom window. The brunette startles and looks over at the window above her desk with wide eyes. "…If you just open your window, I'm sure we can work something out." Quinn smiles into the phone. A lazy grin creeps up onto Rachel's face as she rises off of the bed and walks to the window. An unbelieving shake of her head propels her as she goes.

- {||||||||} -

"You shouldn't just sneak off like that." Frannie whispers harshly into the phone as Quinn rolls her eyes. She's staring into the mirror of the hallway bathroom across from Rachel's bedroom. She runs a steady hand through the wisps that have fallen out of her ponytail and she sighs loudly.

"I'm sure Mom's passed out asleep from the wine, and Dad never checks up on me anyway. Fran, stop freaking out."

"Fine. But if this happens and I'm not here to cover your ass…don't get mad at me for it. Honestly Quinn, I like Rachel as much as the next person, but…you're playing with fire."

"This is so unfair." Quinn's eyes are thin and bright, her cheeks have begun to heat up, and she reaches for the faucet in order to splash a little bit of water onto her face.

"I know, _I know_. I do. But if Mom and Dad find out about you being friends with any of them…it's over. Let alone if they out find about her being at camp with you. You can kiss Pinewood goodbye. So just…be careful."

"Alright…I got it." Frannie sighs on the other end of the line, and things are quiet between them for a while.

"I'll cover for you until tomorrow night, okay?" Quinn sighs, shutting off the water.

"Thanks…." Quinn blows out a puff of warm air and opens up the bathroom door to the Berry's second floor hallway bathroom – wondering how she ever even got this point in the first place.

"Hey, Happy Thanksgiving, Fran."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Luce."

- {||||||||} -

"Thanks for surprising me tonight."

"It was no biggie." Quinn says around a mouthful of leftover soy mashed potatoes and vegan dressing with cranberry sauce.

"This probably trumps the rest of my Thanksgiving today…sitting here eating leftovers and drinking ginger ale with you." Quinn looks up with full cheeks and gulps quickly before licking her lips and biting the bottom one, holding back a grin. She nods her head and blinks a few times before clearing her throat.

"This is the best Thanksgiving I've ever had, hands down." Rachel looks at Quinn curiously, and then smiles bashfully – a light color working it's way up her cheeks.

"I thought you said that your Thanksgiving wasn't so great…"

"It wasn't…not until I decided to come over and surprise you. But being here with you trumps every other Thanksgiving with my family ever. I'm glad I decided to be spontaneous." Quinn smiles.

"Even if all we have to eat is tofurkey and vegan stuffing?" The blonde smiles and quickly responds by taking another large forkful and guzzling it into her mouth.

"I've had worse. And this…. really isn't half bad."

And then Rachel is laughing and trying not to snort through a sip of her sparkling ginger ale.

- {||||||||} -

**(December)**

It's a cold Thursday afternoon, and Quinn finds herself bundled up at Redgrove Ranch, wandering and weaving in between the rows and rows of Christmas trees up for sale. Her father and sister aren't far off, and she can hear Russell talking with a Ranch volunteer about the quality of their pines. There's snow beneath her feet, and soft flurry drifting down and catching in her eyelashes. She pauses at the edge of the far fence, bundled in between two large ten foot Christmas pines, their branches dusted in a light coating of white. She sniffles once, twice, before brushing snow flurries out of her cap. And when her arm comes back down to her side, she sees a familiar car approaching the lot. The car weaves along the concrete before parking. And when the doors open Quinn's cheeks redden when the Berry men exit, a bundled up Rachel withdrawing from the backseat. Quinn smiles, and soon regrets it when a particularly chilly wind rattles the air around her, cooling her teeth. She waves anyway, hoping to catch Rachel's attention and fails.

From afar, she can feel footsteps approaching, and when she turns around, Frannie's there waiting for her with furrowed brows and her pale hands hidden within her pockets.

"There you are. Dad was looking for you."

"Oh." Frannie studies Quinn, noticing the blush to her cheeks, and the bounce in the younger blonde's feet. Quinn can't help the shy glances that she keeps stealing toward the parking lot and Frannie smiles to herself for a moment. After a few seconds, the older Fabray finally lets her curiosity take hold.

"What are you looking at -?" Frannie peers over Quinn's shoulder past the fence. She spots the Berry family almost immediately, and when she does…her lips fall and her eyes widen. She grabs Quinn's arm and pulls her around, trailing her behind her as they make their hasty retreat to the front gates.

"Frannie…stop. Let go." Quinn whispers harshly as she tries to put some distance between her and her sister. The older blonde points to their Dad, who's in the process of getting their tree wrapped up and taken to the SUV, and Quinn stills – comprehension finally dawning. Her pace quickens as she hurries to trail behind her older sister, trying to make their way through the front exit toward the car before the Berry family can spot them. But it's a much harder feat in practice than in theory, and just as they walk past the gate, Rachel Berry walks in, all bright brown eyes and cold cheeks and long eyelashes. She spots Frannie first and smiles. And when she sees the other head full of blonde hear bringing up the rear she walks closer with much more purpose. Quinn curses underneath her breath and pops up, a nervous smile on her lips.

"R-Rachel, hi…"

"Hi Francesca." Rachel smiles and nods to the older blonde first, before letting her gaze fall to Quinn's.

"Quinn. I didn't think we'd see each other until next weekend." Rachel is smiling brightly now, her hands tangled deep within her pockets as she walks up to the younger of the two sisters, studying the flakes of snow in her blonde hair with a relaxed and peaceful expression. The blonde softens under the gaze and nods, looking up with soft hazel eyes. It's Frannie who interrupts the two of them with a curt cough and a hand gesture to Quinn, telling her to hurry. Quinn panics for a moment and coughs roughly as the older Berry men suddenly make their entrance. Upon catching sight of Quinn and Frannie, they smile and wave happily. Quinn smiles back thinly before falling into another violent fit of coughs. Frannie's hand clutches against Quinn's palm tightly, nearly cutting off the circulation.

"Are…you're not sick are you?" Rachel hastily pulls her hands from her pockets to place them on Quinn's cheeks, her smile quickly turning into a concerned frown. Just then a flummoxed Russell Fabray makes his way through the enclosure exit, a Ranch worker wobbling behind him hauling a large ten footer of a Christmas tree. The larger Fabray places his wallet back into his slacks and looks down at his two daughters as they straighten up, heads lowered by the exit. Rachel Berry stands there perplexed as the reddish blonde man scans her up and down, his almond shaped hazel eyes landing on the hands that she has placed on Quinn's warm cheeks. His eyes then catch sight of the two Berry Men, who stare back at him with colder glances and steady hands. Russell's thin lips twitch before they turn into a scowl.

"Lucy Quinn. Francesca. You know better than to wander off." His words are thin and icy as his eyes pull back up. He keeps his stride, passing his daughters and the younger Berry girl and her fathers on his way to their SUV.

"Sorry Daddy."

"Dad, we –" Quinn doesn't finish her plea before Russell is stopping his footfalls and turning, piercing her with the coolness of his glare.

"Car_. Now_."

"Yes, Sir."

They leave in a hurry. As they pull out of the suddenly chilling parking lot, Quinn's eyes catch Rachel's confused ones. And all Quinn can do is hang her head, the defeat in her chest rising like bile to the back of her throat.

- {||||||||} -

"HOW DARE YOU?" Russell's voice is loud. Too loud to not be heard by the neighbors, but he can't seem to care. The glass of scotch in his right hand is wet and slick as it sloshes turbulently about the edges, like a rolling storm at sea. His eyes swirl and his voice stings as it rains vitriol down like fire.

"Russell…what's this about?" Judy enters the room with a concerned tone of voice, and she places a cool hand along her husband's right shoulder. He flinches it off with a grumble and takes a seat in his large armchair, the scotch in his glass near the brim.

"Why don't you ask your daughters?" Russell addresses the two of them, but his eyes only land on Quinn. "Ask them why they've made it a point to fraternize with the town sodomites."

"Dad." Frannie's voice is so soft and timid – so unlike it's normal intonation. Quinn gulps down the taste of filth in her throat. Her hands remain clasped behind her back in a vice.

"What happened to what we've taught you…_that_ family…that family is going to hell, Lucille. You understand me? I don't like it. I don't like you talking to them, I don't want you speaking to them, and I sure _as hell_ don't want her hands anywhere near you again. _Do you understand me?" _Quinn's lips purse, and a light trail of tears leak out against her better judgment, but she doesn't acknowledge their presence as she lets her head fall into a somber nod.

"Yes, Daddy."

"I mean it Quinn." Russell turns glossy eyes to his eldest daughter and clears his throat menacingly.

"Francesca. It's your responsibility to keep Quinn in line while we're not around, do you understand?" Frannie nods quickly, her lips held in a thin line.

"Of course, Daddy."

"Understood?" Both girls nod. "You're excused."

- {||||||||} -

Quinn and Frannie retreat in step, one in front of the other. They leave quietly, with no words passing between them. It isn't until they've reached the second floor landing that Francesca stops, lacing her fingers around Quinn's left wrist and pulling the younger girl to a quiet halt. Quinn's eyes are bloodshot and glassy - there's a paleness to her cheeks that Francesca hasn't seen for nearly a year. The older blonde smiles sadly and sighs with a weariness far beyond her seventeen years.

"Don't listen to him, okay?"

"But – he said…"

"I don't care what he said…Rachel Berry is your best friend right?" Quinn nods. She bites her bottom lip, her eyes water slightly. "So, tell her the truth about Russell… no more sneaking around. I won't let you listen to Daddy, but you shouldn't have to lose your friend either. They're good people, Quinn…and you know what? We'll just be better at keeping it a secret, okay?" Quinn nods through a sniffle and smiles amidst the quivering of her lower lip. She watches as Frannie squeezes her hand, and disappears down the hallway to her bedroom. Quinn follows suit, disappearing behind the door across the hall. And when she falls atop the mattress, there's a heavy knock outside of her window. She looks up perplexed for a moment, and suddenly sees it. A flurry of brunette hair bundled behind the large puffiness of a winter coat and scarf. Scared brown eyes and a nervous lip stare at her, fingers rap lightly against the coolness of the glass. Quinn sniffles through a smile as she finds her way to the window, letting the small form of Rachel Berry lighten her life, one more smile and assured step at a time.

"I thought maybe…you might need a friend." Rachel whispers, wide-eyed and uncertain. Quinn can't help the way her body leans forward, wrapping the smaller girl into a firm embrace. She squeezes tightly, her eyes clenched. Smaller hands wrap around her waist with a gentle assurance she's never garnered from anyone else. And when she buries her nose into the crook of a warm neck and sniffles softly, soft lips come down to bury within the tendrils of blonde hair at the crown of her head.

And Quinn whispers, her breath swirling around her head like the first ray of light after a dreary storm; heavy like an exaltation: "I do."


	9. Chapter 9

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(May)**

* * *

Santana pulls Quinn aside one hot afternoon. Her breath is warm, and it tickles the strands of hair at the back of a pale neck as she pushes Quinn back – shoulder blades first into the hot metal of a McKinley High School portable. They're both hot and sticky with sweat, having just completed their last practice until try-outs for the High School squad in the fall. Dark, almost ebony hair swirls around a lightly pinked face as Santana's eyes squint ferociously. From afar, Brittany can be heard, her voice high and inquisitive blurred at the edges as if she's more than a few paces away.

"San...?"

"Just give me a sec, Brit. I'll be right back." Santana yells out into the humid air. And in a much quieter voice, decibels lower than moments before, she mutters: "This won't take long." Quinn's lips part, the ire on her tongue finally rising to the surface after the lag; she frees her arms and pushes hard into a fully developed chest and a slight pair of ribs. Santana falls back, breath expelled, eyes flinching.

"The fuck Fabray!?"

"You're the one that grabbed _me_!" Santana pops her jaw and nods her head a fraction - in acquiescence. She rubs at her ribs and chuckle mostly to herself. The sound is hollow as it reverberates in the small space, and Quinn squints her eyes, her feet set widely apart.

"You're right…you're right. I did grab you…you and I, we need to talk." Quinn lets her arms relax, but she keeps her feet in the same set position. She works her strong jaw, wondering what Santana Lopez could possibly be playing at. The two girls have been nothing more than "friends" by proxy of popularity for the entirety of the school year. And the term "friends" is referred to loosely. Santana Lopez is a mean girl, all dark eyes, dark hair, and bright teeth. She smiles like sin, and her voice trills like honey – but what many people fail to realize, is that girls like Santana have secrets – and sometimes they aren't as untouchable as they've so far proven to be.

"I'm not in the talking mood." Quinn pants, she's still trying to catch her breath, their squad just having completed a two-mile trail run followed by ten sets of bleachers for endurance.

"Did I ask you?" Santana huffs, her arms come up and her hands splay out to level on both sides of the blonde's head, blocking her in. Quinn rolls her eyes. She ignores her mother's voice in the back of her head telling her that if she keeps at it, they'll get stuck like that one day.

"Alright…fine. What do you want?"

"You're always so touchy Fabray…relax a little."

"Maybe I would if you'd let me go. My world doesn't revolve around _you_." Santana smiles for a second, letting her arms fall back to her sides. She licks her top lip and raises her brown eyes to the sun overhead before bringing them back down to pierce Quinn's. The usual fire is gone, and is instead replaced by something all too familiar to compassion…. the coils in Quinn's stomach clench and roll as eyes lock.

"No, it doesn't. But I'm sure I can think of someone who _your_ world would jump through _fucking_ hoops to fucking revolve for." Quinn squints her eyes, her lips going slack as a familiar grin evolves around the corners of Santana's lips. Knowing eyes delight in the upper hand that they're holding, and Quinn flounders for a moment, butterflies rioting,

"What are you talking about?"

"You tell me." Santana raises an eyebrow. "But I'm pretty sure I'm not your type." Quinn goes to scoff, but Santana is quick to cut her off. "But I'll bet my entire Barbie collection that that little midget who's been waiting for you in the stands after practice damn near all school year….is right up your little fundamentalist Christian, Church of God In Christ alley." Quinn pales, her lips go slack and her feet suddenly feel much too heavy.

"What…"

"Rachel Berry ring a bell? C'mon Quinn, this is a small as crap town. Did you expect that no one would know that you two hang out?"

"I-just…we've been trying to be careful. She's my friend." Santana raises her eyebrows, clicking her teeth together in amusement as Quinn steps back against the coolness of the wall.

"People just don't say shit because they're _afraid_ of you. But if you keep up this Melissa Etheridge, Jodie Foster shit…that's going to change. And fast. If I can follow you home after school, and catch you sneaking into her window on a school night – anybody can." Quinn takes another step back, her lips pursed.

"You followed me home after practice?"

"B was bored and we didn't have anything better to do…so what?" Quinn's cheeks redden. "The fact of the matter here is…handle your shit. You're going to be a fucking Cheerio one day. People like Rachel Berry get egged behind the local Kroger. I may be a bitch but at least I choose my company wisely."

"What do you mean?"

"_Dios Mio_, are you retarded? I could _destroy_ you…but for not knowing you all that well – you're already a fuckload more legit than any person than most of the bitches in this town. And you look like you could hold your own…so I'm telling you….handle your shit, and maybe next year you can hang out with me and B."

"What if I don't want to?" Quinn's fists clench again, and Santana turns her back, her feet moving as she slowly walks away, shoulders high.

"I don't think you have a choice Jodie Foster." And with a chuckle, Santana is gone – disappearing behind the other row of portables, possibly to go and join Brittany. Quinn stands where she's been stranded for a moment, blowing out puffs of humid air; her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. She feels her cellphone vibrate from her small sports bag front pocket and she grabs for it, biting her bottom lip.

"_**Hey Quinn. I'm still here waiting by the bleachers. Didn't see you. Are you around? - Rachel" **_Quinn pauses for a moment, staring at her illuminated screen. She has half a mind to tell Rachel to hang on, and that she'll meet her behind the bleachers in a second. But Santana's words ring loudly in her ears, and try as she might she can't shake the nagging feeling of uncertainty tickling at the back of her mind. Because if Quinn thinks about it – really thinks about it. What did that mean? Melissa Etheridge…Jodie Foster? Quinn is young and in some ways still relatively naïve, but if she didn't know better – she's sure that those two women are known as much for their talents as they are for their personal sexual "deviances." And Quinn isn't…. _like_ that. She's juggled the idea before, concerned with the way that she's found herself staring a fraction of a second too long in dark cabins or in locker rooms, or changed the channel during the lesbian kiss scene in _Cruel Intentions_ just a little too quickly for it to be considered "comfortable." But – Rachel? Her? Noo…nooo. Never, of course not – because Quinn isn't wired that way, and even if she were – she would never admit to it having come from a family that she does. And so she glances at her phone, and she lets her fingers press the appropriate keys, her eyes never moving from their task. And when it's all said and done, and the message is sent, Quinn Fabray finally lets her fist come down on the metal wall behind her, scratches spreading across her pale knuckles.

"_**No…I wasn't feeling well. Got a ride home. – Q"**_

- {||||||||} -

"_**Quinn? Are you okay? – Rachel"**_

Quinn rolls over in her sleep. Hoping that the weekend comes quickly. It's been a few hours since her confrontation with Santana, and the heaviness she feels in her abdomen isn't dissipating.

"_People just don't say shit because they're afraid of you. But if you keep up this Melissa Etheridge, Jodie Foster shit…that's going to change"_

The words loop dangerously within Quinn's mind, and the Best Friend necklace around her collarbones burns into her skin.

_**"I don't want to bother too much, since we're supposed to be keeping this all super quiet. Frannie's just texted me and assured me that you're alright and safely at home. I hope that you contact me once you're feeling better. – Rachel"**_

"_If I can follow you home after school, and catch you sneaking into her window on a school night – anybody can…"_

She can't risk it. Not with Russell again...and definitely not with Santana. She feels her ribs begin to push in, and cave. She feels trapped within her own skin. And Quinn rolls over again, breath hot and tears close. She doesn't text back.

Instead she throws her phone roughly to the carpeted floor below.

- {||||||||} -

It's been five days without Rachel, the sun shines brightly and Quinn squints her eyes rather somberly at the sun – watching as the clouds cover it, creeping slowly across the cerulean of the sky .

"Do you like ladybugs?"

Quinn turns around. The wind blows her hair around her face as her eyes settle on bright blue. Brittany looks curious; the intrigued lighter blonde bites into her sandwich and then stares at a ladybug that seems to have made its way onto the canvas of her backpack.

"They're alright I guess." Quinn mumbles. Brittany nods, smiling absently.

"I read this book in Kindergarten once. The ladybug in it was really grouchy in the beginning…and he kept wanting to fight people much bigger than him." Quinn squints her eyes, nodding her head. The banana in her hand is forgotten as she ponders Brittany's curious train of thought.

"I remember that book I think." Quinn adds as an afterthought. Brittany takes another bite of her sandwich.

"Santana reminds me of the ladybug…she's mean and grouchy to everybody, and you're like the other ladybug in the beginning who wants to be friends and share the little green bugs." Quinn shakes her head, tongue laced around a disbelieving chuckle.

"Yea…well I don't actually _want_ to be friends with Santana." And then Brittany is suddenly smiling. The blue-eyed blonde sits up and grabs her backpack as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch hour.

"Yes you do. You guys are a lot more alike than you both think. Embrace the ladybug." And Quinn watches her go, bottom lip askew…a little more confused now than she was at the beginning of the conversation.

Brittany bounces away, her hair billowing behind her on the breeze like a silken halo.

- {||||||||} -

Rachel calls Quinn at 7:45pm. Quinn sees it and hits the sound button, silencing the call. She rolls over onto her back biting her lip. If nothing else - Santana Lopez is wiser than she seems, and Quinn Fabray has never felt so ridiculously alone. The call goes unanswered and Quinn exhales a shaky breath. Her phone blinks to life.

4 missed calls it tells her.

All of them are from Rachel Berry.

- {||||||||} -

There's an emptiness to Quinn's room now that the school year is winding down to a close. The things on her desk that used to shift about the room, always by the touch of Rachel Berry's hand…lay unmoving, a feather light layer of dust having settled. It really isn't enough pollen to mark a long passage of time, but two weeks is not _short_ – and Quinn knows that it is of no ones fault but her own. She sighs as her back connects with faux down bedding, and she's left to stare at the whirling wood of her ceiling fan.

Two weeks.

_Two weeks_.

Quinn would blame the disconnect on Rachel…but she can't. There's a certain level of responsibility when it comes to maintaining a friendship, and Quinn is failing to keep her end of things intact…ever since Santana confronted her. And it shouldn't have amounted to the canyons and canyons that are paving themselves between them now, but Quinn…is _confused_. Quinn is _fourteen_. And Quinn can't imagine wanting to spend all night hugging her best friend – disappearing into the rich tan of her skin – wishing on her every darkened eyelash – hoping for something that she knows is wrong - she can't call that _normal_.

And all Quinn knows is that when the world conspires against her, and when it fails to make sense – she must erase what she knows and start over. Because Rachel Berry is her best friend, and she can't accept the way that her stomach has always flipped whenever they've touched. She can't pretend that what she feels is acceptable – and so she'd stopped returning the brunettes phone calls. She'd stopped texting back – she'd closed her curtains to the _tap, tap, tap_ of small pebbles against her windowpane. And in the early hours of the weekday mornings, she'd cleared her red eyes and she'd gone to school – with Santana and Brittany by her side – a slew of unanswered messages in her voicemail.

And after one week…they just stopped.

And Frannie had stopped secretly asking if Quinn wanted a ride across town.

"Are you and Rachel fighting?" Frannie had whispered to her quickly while they shared the bathroom, brushing their teeth. Tongues foamy and hair still sleep mussed. And Quinn had known that it was more than a question. It was: "Have you and Rachel stopped being friends after everything you've gone through? After all that I've sacrificed to help make this work?"

"No." Quinn had coughed, and Frannie had frowned.

"Are you sure?" And at that Quinn had proceeded to spit out her paste, rinse her mouth and promptly leave the bathroom.

- {||||||||} -

Letting her go quickly was supposed to be easier. Biding her time was supposed to be the right move. And yet it didn't explain the letter shuffled under her bedroom door, her name written in purple loops and lines – "Quinn…you've received a letter today. It's odd…there was no postage." Judy mumbled. The blonde stared curiously at the bright ink; her back still hugging her comforter, her backpack hanging off of the corner of her swivel chair. And by the time that Quinn opens the envelope, and unfurls the paper within – she already knows whom it is from:

_Meet me at Hyde Field. Just between First and Division. _

_9pm._

_This isn't a request._

_ R.B._

And if anyone had ever said that Quinn had a mind of her own when dealing with Rachel Berry – they were wrong. By 8:45pm, Quinn shuts off her lights, fluffs up a handful of clothes under her comforter to make it look like a body, and sneaks downstairs, past her father's study and through the garage door. The air is cold, even in May – and Quinn thinks that if anything she deserves the chill – the biting sting to her skin.

She deserves it all.

- {||||||||} -

There's a 60's style light blue bicycle chained to a bench as Quinn approaches. She rides up, having spotted it – the _RBSTAR_ license plate beneath the basket reflects within the moonlight. The blonde dismounts quickly - chaining up her bike to the same bench post, and then she's left scanning the darkened park around her – hazel eyes squinted despite the nearby streetlights haziness.

"Quinn?" The blonde turns abruptly; a small figure emerges from the direction of the grassy field, suddenly illuminated by the fading waves of amber light. Rachel Berry's fuzzy outline suddenly comes into nearing focus. The brunette is in jeans and her Pinewood Cabin 22 hoodie, her hair falls around her chin and neck, her hood obscuring the curve of her bangs. Quinn pauses, panting slightly. She swallows once, thickly – her eyes adjusting, and her chest tightening.

"Hello." Rachel doesn't stop her advance; slender feet continue their steps in a forward motion, until the two girls are only short distance apart.

"I wasn't sure you'd come." The brunette is a foot away now. Eyes downturned, sad…but almost tangibly angry; Quinn watches as Rachel crosses her arms at her chest, bottom lip held curiously between her teeth. Quinn doesn't say anything, she nods her head nearly imperceptibly – swallows one more time, her throat dry. And then Rachel is leaving her – small frame descending into the darkened center of Hyde Field. The streetlights glow doesn't seem to reach as far – and Rachel Berry almost disappears. But Quinn follows silently, scratching out the weaving silhouette with sleepy eyes until they're standing together on dewy grass, night having surrounded them. Rachel sits, lays back – eyes facing the sky – and when Quinn hesitates, Rachel pulls her by the ankle – the stronger one – and Quinn tumbles down, her breath lost.

"I used to come here in the summer…sneak out to stare at the constellations. This was the only place where I could go un-bothered, and I wasn't too far from home. The light pollution is relatively moderate here in Lima." Rachel sighs. "But then I went to camp for the first time two summers ago…and there really is nothing that can compare to a Maine sky." Quinn listens, the guilt of avoidance heavy in her chest.

"I almost forget about it. That period of time when I had no friends…just _blind ambition_ and _constellations_ and _Barbra_ and _Broadway_…my fathers." Quinn really feels guilty now; she can feel the heaviness in her eyes take its weary toll.

"But I've been back here every night this week…it's just as lonely as I remember it. Me, Rigel, Betelgeuse…Venus sometimes too, on a good night." Rachel turns to Quinn now, brown eyes dilated and disappointed, weary almost as if the world were hanging precariously from her slim shoulders. And doesn't Quinn feel the same? Like Atlas…holding a world much too large, on shoulders much too weak. She wishes she were Poseidon, waging war against the torment of the sea, but the weight is sinking in…and all of the Greek Mythology that Quinn read about two summers ago at the local library scrambles itself. And suddenly she isn't so sure who she is anymore. Persephone? …Zeus? Artemis? Hera?

"You've been avoiding me…" The worst part about those eyes is that they aren't accusing her of having done anything wrong. Instead they worry and they pout like the red of her lips, and Quinn can't look away from Rachel Berry's questioning face – illuminated by Orion and Cassiopeia overhead.

"I – Rachel, I'm…it's complicated I think."

"Things aren't so complicated once we uncomplicate them, Quinn."

"You try being me for a day then." The Fabray iciness has edged into the bitterness of her voice, and she can feel her body growing rigid, closing up, pale fingers tangled in the tall blades of grass by her hip.

"You try being me!" The brunette scoffs. And then Rachel is sitting up, all of her weight balanced on her knees as she turns angry eyes toward Quinn, who still lies back firmly planted to the ground.

"Rach…" Quinn sighs, her voice much softer than seconds before.

"Stop!" Quinn stumbles, quieting - listening. "You don't get to do that Quinn. You stopped texting _me_. You're supposed to be my best friend, and it's _your_ fault that we aren't talking. It's your fault that I've gotten so used to having you around! I…I don't have any friends here; I'm bullied _all of the time_. I-I just have you, a-and Pinewood, and Barbra and my Fathers. We have these silly necklaces for a _reason_!" Rachel reaches for the Best Friend necklace hanging loosely around Quinn's neck, her fingers hot as it traces the outline of the charm. "Now you talk to me this instant, or so help me. I _won't_ go to camp in four weeks time for possibly the best summer of our lives whilst fighting with you. I can't do it, Quinn…please don't make me."

Quinn is speechless; Rachel's fingers splay across her sternum, still tracing the blonde's matching necklace, her brown eyes finally beginning to simmer down. Quinn can feel the heaviness in her own eyes begin to prickle, she blinks – too many times for it to be considered normal – and she lets the air in her chest out on an exhale. The blades of grass held between her palm break free from the earth with a tug…and then Quinn is opening her mouth – a shooting star streaks across the dark sky,

"My family…"

"Doesn't approve of me and my Fathers relatively alternative lifestyle…" Quinn sighs deeply, her eyelids closing.

"…My family doesn't understand me. _I don't understand me_." The blonde can feel her throat cracking. And it's like a deluge – the memories. Of Santana and ladybugs, blue eyes and unnatural thoughts. She feels like her world is finally tumbling down her back, it's terrifying – but her shoulders already feel worlds lighter. "I think…I'm _different_."

"Of course you are Quinn. You broke your ankle to break my fall a summer ago…you didn't talk for almost a month beforehand either…you ended up being so different than I initially thought. And you continue to surprise me…you're mysterious in a way that isn't really that mysterious at all…different is good. That's why we're friends…" Quinn smiles around a sniffle, a chuckle leaking through as she runs a hand over her eyes. She feels ridiculously close to the heart of it all, and she can feel hands running up through her hair, soothing her down to a calm.

"I like different, Quinn Fabray." And then Quinn is opening her hazel eyes and smiling at the bright face peering down at her. She never knew lightness could feel so complimentary.

"I like that you like different" Quinn whispers, and then Rachel is lowering her head to rest on the blonde's sternum, right underneath a cold jaw and a slender neckline. Small puffs of carbon dioxide tickle the goose-hairs on Quinn's exposed collarbone.

"I hope that this is the end of all of your tomfoolery Quinn Fabray…I don't like you not being around…it makes my heart hurt." Rachel murmurs. And Quinn is almost positive that the brunette is timing her heartbeats, however cold and distant they may sound. "You're different and it's okay…don't listen to whoever tells you otherwise. You're beautiful and silent and all of those things that I see in the constellations. You'll be someone someday…and I will too. And we'll be friends until the end of the ends."

"You're weird."

"And you have a tendency to run away from the people who care about you. When have we ever done things by the book?" Rachel whispers. And it's interesting really, how tectonic plates crack and melt into one another, sometimes creating volcanic rifts. Disturbances within the crust – and yet at the end of it all…a beautiful mountain range rises, tipped with the beginnings of snow. And Quinn thinks that maybe that's Rachel and her; tectonic plates…ions…matter floating around one another, biding their time for that one beautiful collision. And so Quinn nods her head, breathes in deeply – she thinks of ladybugs and Jodie Foster in Panic Room – she thinks of the summer she had, and the summer she's yet to have. And she thinks of happiness – something so foreign to the little girl that she used to be. And when she feels her lips betraying her, and reaching for tan skin, settling on a soft forehead – she sighs. And she's _fourteen_…they're _fourteen_, and she panics – wanting to take it back. But then Rachel is lifting up her head, eyes tired but full – dilated and warm. They stare at one another for long moments, Ursa Minor bright above them now…and then Rachel falls again, back down to young, pale skin – but this time she lets her chin stop millimeters away from the rigidity of another. Their breaths mingling…And when those lips connect, soft and slow, innocent and bold – all of the constellations above them suddenly fail to shine so brightly, illuminated instead by the brilliance of the innocence of a first kiss.

And Quinn thinks that Brittany is right…ladybugs are _gorgeous_.

- {||||||||} -

Zeus Quinn isn't.

Poseidon she is not.

Hera she could never be.

Persephone either.

And Quinn suddenly can't help the smile that falls from her lips and onto Rachel's as she realizes that she knows exactly who she's become. Hands still tugging errantly at strands of grass.

Pandora…and Rachel Berry…has just sealed the box, Quinn's fallen world now full…of wondrous _hope_.

- {||||||||} -

When Frannie rises up at 4:02am, the sound of birds beginning their song stirs her to wakefulness. She blinks, letting her feet drag her from bed. She stops by Quinn's room, unable to fall back to sleep, and creeks open the door. A lumpy bed and a folded letter are all that remain, and the older Fabray is hurrying into a jacket and grabbing for her car keys – eyes bright and lips pursed.

And by 4:15am, she's parked herself at Hyde Field, 7eleven coffee in hand, and eyes settled on two fourteen year old sleeping forms tangled together within the center of the field. Arms embraced, hair mussed – and Frannie wonders…if she should have predicted this all along. She sips her coffee for another few seconds before she reaches for a spare jacket on her backseat. Exiting her car, she paces quickly, her hoodie tight around her slight frame.

It's time to bring her girls back home…before the world begins to worry and her heart begins to ache.

"Quinn, sweetie." She whispers. "Rachel."

"Time to take you two home."


	10. Chapter 10

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(June)**

* * *

"I didn't realize we'd run out of time so quickly." Quinn mutters, she struggles to swallow – eyes lowered. She's halfway packed for their drive to camp with nothing but loose fingers, and the heaviness of her heart standing in the empty space between them. Francesca smiles sadly, the hazel within her eyes swirling– on the brink of something far more tangible than sadness. The older blonde nods her head, blinking back something that is forbidden in a house like their own – instead she takes two steps forward – and Quinn simply falls into her, arms clutching everywhere – holding her in.

"I'm not disappearing, Luce…it's just college." Frannie whispers into the hair tickling her chin. A tear falls, catching on some of the tendrils and the older blonde sniffles. You see Quinn hadn't _prepared _for this loss to be so significant. She had expected to smile politely at the graduation, and then brood within the confines of her newer, larger, older sister's now abandoned room. She'd expected to obtain the acceptance that she so strived for as a younger child – to finally live on the other side of the Fabray shadow. But in the months that have since passed, the school year having completed – Quinn has realized, that Frannie is everything that is keeping her world together, stitched carefully and lovingly at the seams. And her world needs that tailoring touch – because Quinn alone, is much too vulnerable, and much too quick to unravel.

"Don't go." The younger blonde manages, stepping back and wiping her eyes. They're red and puffy – Young shoulders are set, and that rigid chin is raised – defiance so beautifully replicated on a face so used to fooling everyone else. And Quinn's bottom lip quivers, she sucks it in, biting it with her teeth.

"I can't stay." Frannie concedes. Quinn's nose crinkles as she tries not to sniffle, the trembles continue on down to her chin, and the younger blonde looks away toward a clear window – unable to see an answer to this tragedy.

"Stay for me…_please?_" There's an uncharacteristic desperation in Quinn's voice – her eyes returning to entrap those of her older sister – begging for an absolution. And this time it's Frannie who has to wipe at the corners of her eyes - she chuckles, her eyes settling on the necklace hanging around Quinn's neck. She can sense Rachel's presence within this very room without the brunette having even been here in weeks - she smiles sadly at the thought of everything she's bound to miss.

"I…I can't just say no to Princeton. But I'll be here all summer – I won't be leaving until August, there's still time sweetheart. You're not alone." Quinn nods. "Cheer up, we're driving to camp in a few hours, just you and Rachel and all of your dorky camp friends for 7 weeks Luce, you'll forget all about me." And then Quinn is falling down onto her bed, to bury herself within the mountains of clothes that she has yet to finish packing. She hides her face beneath a navy blazer – her diaphragm expanding, and the tears she's been working so hard to keep at bay finally freeing themselves – wreaking havoc and disappointment all over the floral designs in her comforter.

"_you'll forget all about me"_

That's exactly the problem.

Frannie joins her younger sister, holding her – arms laced precariously around the younger blonde's back, the smell of summer weaving thickly in the air. And she wishes that life for them weren't such an uphill battle. But alas, for the Fabray children – nothing is ever _easy._ And Princeton suddenly feels like miles and miles…and miles away.

- {||||||||} -

There's the loud squelch of Bridgestone tires on pine, and when Quinn steps out of the back right passenger door – she looks up – engulfed within a circle of trees. The smell of pine in the air is heady in her nostrils. Her heart swells and Francesca smiles at her, the older Fabray stepping out too to admire the campgrounds. Judy sits in the car while Russell makes progress with Quinn's bags – his mouth set into a hard line. He drops them at Quinn's feet with a simple nod before getting back into their Mercury.

"Frannie, we haven't got all day, we have to make it to early orientation." Russell Barks through the window, and Frannie half smiles half grimaces. Quinn clears her throat, seconds ticking between them until suddenly a voice is calling out from the distance, loud and happy, boisterous.

"Quinn! Welcome Back." Quinn can here the approaching cavalry before she sees it, but in the moments that have distracted them, Frannie retreats – her eyes tired – but her smile full. There's a wave, and a lingering grin on her lips as Frannie gets back into the car. Quinn watches silently as her father pulls out of the lot, dust spinning out around his wheels. And then Quinn is turning, and before she can blink there are several bodies at her arms, locking her in an embrace – and she positively can't _breath._ But she smiles and she laughs all the same because she suddenly feels like she's _home_.

- {||||||||} -

Quinn stares at the wooden _30_ on her new cabin door and raises an eyebrow. She'd had help getting her bags down from a few of the new counselors who'd she met at the front office. She finds herself flanked by Carly Klein (a younger Intermediate camper from the year before, whom Quinn had spoken to on seldom the occasion) and Sky Harris – Stein, of who Quinn can say with real honesty, that she's missed in the months that have passed since their cohabitating in Cabin 22. Sky is smiling and out of breath, grass stains already on one of her shins as she barrels through the door with a flourish, pointing at the assigned beds with mirth.

"This is gonna be the BEST summer I can already feel it. Me, you, Rachel, Vero, Gracie, Avery and Tegan all in the same cabin together again." Quinn can't help but feel her chest flutter inconspicuously with the excitement of their cabin assignments. She'd be celebrating with Rachel if the brunette weren't coming on the Camp bus in a few hours – instead she takes the moment to drop her book bag and walk along the center row, cataloging the beds. She settles on the one in the far left corner, her bigger camp luggage having already been shipped and allocated there. Carly is busy following Sky around like a puppy dog as the two other girls point at long forgotten signatures on the walls and laugh at jokes that Quinn is too busy ignoring. It's not until the girls hear the door rustle that Quinn looks up, eyes alert and cheeks slightly tanned.

"If it isn't my favorite gimp. Where's the cast Q-Fab?" Abee smiles brightly, arms crossed over her chest. And if you'd told Quinn Fabray that she would be this happy to see people that she was almost sure she hated – she wouldn't have believed you. Abee is lean and slender against the open door, and Quinn suddenly walks over, falling into the now twenty three year olds embrace. They hug like old acquaintances, and Quinn is sure she can smell the citrus of her hair, it instills a calm happiness within her bones, and Abee squeezes just as tightly in return. "Alright kid, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were a totally different person." Abee smiles, she laughs once before stepping back to cross her arms. "The Quinn Fabray that I used to know was never _ever_ this happy to see me."

Quinn raises an eyebrow and steps back, mirroring her counselor, arms crossed over her chest in defiance. Sky sees the showdown and laughs, suddenly pulling Quinn out of the door by the elbow. Abee waves as Quinn is dragged out into the sunlight, a smirk on the counselors face. If this had been anyone else, Quinn would have been annoyed – but something about Abee just makes the blonde smile. She shakes her head as she's pulled away, letting Sky and Carly drag her to wherever they potentially see fit.

- {||||||||} -

The buses are arriving, one by one - Large dark windows and tinted hands waving through the glass. Quinn jogs up to the picnic benches with Sky and Claire. They perch themselves on top of the wood, feet planted on the benches just below as they watch the arrivals. Bo stands at the entrance road, clipboard in hand – and Quinn is instantaneously brought back to this moment a year ago. She remembers the scared girl that she was – and the still scared, but more confident, more assured girl that she's become. And she thinks that she owes that change within herself to this place…and to Rachel Berry.

And just as the light peeks overhead, the doors open and the first campers take their inaugural steps on dirt roads and pine sodden trails. The bus is nearly empty by now, and Quinn is approached for hugs, and smiles - happy welcomes, but she smiles halfheartedly and she wraps her arms around slender necks with a distant glow. It isn't until she sees it – dark, hair falling down around sun-kissed shoulders, a head turned around – talking to the girl behind her. Beaming smile, and auburn eyes. Quinn disentangles herself from Rachel Greenberg's arms, her eyes following the slender girl across the way. She walks with purpose – her lips falling into a simple line, the corners tilted – her eyes trained solely on their target, are wide and all-encompassing. She walks slowly, weaving between screaming, joyous bodies. And quite suddenly…Rachel is there, turning around – and Quinn catches her, nose burying into the corner of the brunette's neck, her smile burying deeply into the warm skin.

"I missed you." Quinn mumbles, arms squeezing tightly around Rachel's waist, her backpack falling off of one shoulder.

"I just saw you two days ago silly." Rachel whispers, her smile is bright, illuminated in the summer air. Quinn squeezes more tightly, shaking her head.

"I _missed_ you."

"I missed you more." Rachel replies, so softly that Quinn barely hears it. And they stand there together in the center of the haze for long seconds – lifetimes – before there are a sea of warm bodies and arms linking around them, all of them squeezing tightly – at least seven smiling faces wrap them up, a group hug made of flailing limbs and bright smiles and effervescent eyes.

"CABIN 30 '08!" Avery screams. Tegan cheers from somewhere over Quinn's left shoulder, and Gracie laughs. Veronica stares them down with a look of skepticism, arms crossed over her chest—laughs bubble up from deep within her lungs. And suddenly Sky is throwing herself on top of the pile, nearly toppling them all over. And they are instantly jumping in the air, bodies embraced. Quinn nearly slips, and she laughs loudly – eyes trained on Rachel's all the while.

Her converse hit the dirt with every jump, and she feels grounded here.

She feels loved in this place.

- {||||||||} -

Gabriela Jacobs is their other counselor this summer. She's tall and slender with light eyes and tanned skin. She teaches tennis all day, and when she comes back to the cabin in the afternoons she's always smiling – her hair mussed, and her arms strong. Quinn likes her – she likes her like she liked Megan, and as she sits on her bed reading a book, Rachel spread out by her feet – she hopes that Gabriela will be back sometime in their future. They'll be Pines next summer…they'll have real responsibilities, in every way that the oldest campers do. They'll be contenders for captaincy next year – they won't be fourteen for very much longer. And Quinn wants only the most special people there to experience it all with her – she thinks that maybe…Gabriela should be a part of that, just like Abee, and Megan should the other counselor ever return.

It's rest hour, and the soft hum of quiet breathing and sleepy snores is the sound that reverberates between the wooden cabin walls. Gabriela spots Quinn and smiles as she crosses the cabin to her bed. Gabriela's voice is raspy and low; Quinn looks up from her bent copy of _The Catcher in the Rye_, her eyes engaged.

"Hi Quinn." Gabriela whispers. "No sleep today?" Quinn shakes her head; blowing out a breath of air.

"I'm not sleepy." Gabriela nods, the counselor sits down on her bed, grabbing for one of her own books out of her bedside cubby. _The Poisonwood Bible_, the yellows of the front cover are bold, worn – as if the books been read over and over again.

"What are you reading?" Gabriela asks.

"Salinger." Gabriela smiles, impressed. "What about you?" Quinn inquires curiously.

"Kingsolver." Quinn doesn't know the author, she squints her eyes, nodding quietly. And then Gabriela is pointing to her cubby, and to the rows and rows of books lined up pristinely on her small shelves.

"You know…I have a lot of books here. If you ever want to read one, that's age appropriate of course, let me know." And then Quinn is smiling and nodding. The blonde returns back to her book, peeking over the top at Rachel, whose body hangs haphazardly over the edge.

The two of them haven't changed…since the day that they kissed. Things are different. More tangible, more vibrant, more real – and they haven't kissed since being at Pinewood. They've only kissed one other time before both leaving for Camp. It was a warm night, hands linked beneath the Cherry Tree in Rachel's backyard, lips locked over a game of Spit. And somehow – they don't need anything more than that here…they just _are_. And they're best friends like the moon and the sun are allies. And so Quinn smiles, as her fingers trace an outline of an elephant on Rachel's exposed hipbone, just above her track shorts; _Catcher in the Rye_ hangs forgotten in her other hand. And what the blonde fails to realize, is that Gabriela hasn't lost view, the counselor watches curiously from afar, her bottom lip caught between the pearliness of her teeth. And when she turns her head, her eyes land on Abee – the other counselor's eyes having been opened for more than a few moments. And when she raises her eyebrows, her eyes glancing between an oblivious Quinn and a knowing Abee…the older counselor shrugs a shoulder, a smile to her lips and an understanding kindness to her eyes.

And that's all that Gabriela needs to know. She makes it a personal mission to mark books within her cubby for Quinn throughout the summer – literature having been something so profoundly personal and enlightening for herself, she wonders if maybe…the impassioned blonde across the way would appreciate the gesture. And then the bugle is sounding for the end of rest hour and the beginning of activity period five. The girls in the cabin awake from their slumbers, sleepy eyed and grumbling. Sky stretches before grabbing her tennis racket and disappearing out into the sunlight. Avery moans before convincing Gracie and Tegan and Vero to accompany her to Photography. And when Rachel sits up – Gabriela watches as the brunette locks eyes with Quinn, a soft smile passing between them.

"Quinn…Rachel…see you both at tennis yea?" She inquires, racket ready as she heads for the door. Quinn shrugs a shoulder with a smile, and Rachel beams her approval.

"Of course you will Gabriela!"

"I guess." Quinn mumbles sleepily. And when the counselor walks out of the cabin door, she sighs. A smile on her lips as the sun peeks out from behind the far away clouds.


	11. Chapter 11

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(July)**

* * *

It's a rainy day. Puddles ripple and expand across the campgrounds. The windows in the dining hall rattle and whistle as the various groups of campers and counselors eat breakfast at their tables – most of them dressed in billowing rain jackets, parkas, and rain boots. Quinn waits in line at the salad bar, her hand wrapped around a small ceramic bowl as she eyes the last box of Special K with strawberries. Before she can grab hit, small sticky hands latch on to it triumphantly, and Quinn has the mind to glare them down – all hazel eyes and dark grimaces, but when she looks up – it's Rachel Berry. The brunette has a triumphant look on her face, and Quinn sees the bananas and sun-butter already on the girls plate. Rachel shrugs her shoulders at Quinn with a wink before making her way to the fruit bowl to grab a grapefruit and a few strawberries. Quinn sighs, smirking to herself – of course she can't be mad – it's Rachel for goodness sake…and so she grabs onto a small box of Kix instead before making her way back to her Cabin 30 table.

It isn't until Quinn is halfway back into her seat that she realizes that Rachel Berry _never_ eats breakfast cereal. For one, there isn't an available Almond or Soy Milk substitute unless a camper brings their own supply for the camp kitchens. And secondly, Rachel Berry hates cereal – she once mentioned it to Quinn the summer previous after scolding the girl on the infinite amount of additives and preservatives that are in commercial brands. And so it is with a quirked eyebrow that Quinn eyes the brunette next to her. Rachel smiles around a piece of pineapple and taps the edge of Quinn's plate. The blonde looks down, and right before her is a matching ceramic bowl, already full of Special K – waiting patiently for the blonde to fill it to the brim with 1%.

"It was the last box." Rachel shrugs. "I know it's your favorite."

And then Quinn smiles, a spoonful already held between her fingers as she takes a bite, her eyes on Rachel for the rest of their meal.

- {||||||||} -

The rain has ruined their plans to go to activities today. Instead the entire camp is sequestered into the gymnasium for a game hour. They're all divided into pre-assigned groups. Quinn sits on the blue gym mats, her legs indian-style and her arms resting just behind her propping up her torso. She's in a group with Carly Klein the younger girl from the first day of camp, Vero, Rocio an older Pine camper, Jordan Moskowitz a third year junior, Olivia Aaron – a second-year pine and the previous year's Tan Team Co-Captain, Felicity Jale a first year Intermediate, Bianca Gonzalez one of the older Venezuelan campers, Hallie McGovern a junior, Lisa Wagermeyer an Intermediate, and Tegan. The game is trivia based, and the separate groups are meant to think of a song with the words given by Bo at the beginning of each round. What makes the game difficult is that each team gets ten seconds, and once a round ends every group must sing their song – if a song is repeated the repeating groups are eliminated. At present moment, they're in round seven, and only three groups remain. The word clues have gotten more and more difficult, and out of the corner of Quinn's eye she can visibly make out Rachel Berry, sitting in the center of her group mid- huddle. The brunette's lips are moving at a mile a minute as everyone around her sits enraptured and intrigued…even Erin Lehmann and Gillian Stein who are second year Pines and last year's Green Team Captains. They all sit around Rachel, waiting for her words of wisdom. By round three, Quinn's team is eliminated when they sing a version of "_Criminal_" by Fiona Apple. One of the rules is that each team must make it through at least four lines of song in order for their choice to be valid. Olivia is the only one who knows all of the words – and she falters after the second line. Quinn shrugs her shoulders and sits up, watching the final round – eyes only on Rachel now that her attention has been piqued. The final round is the hardest yet, with the words that Bo reveals being in French: _Vivre, and Amour. _Rachel beams, as the girls around her all stare open-mouthed. Group one is in a panic, Sara Miller is screeching at Celeste Levy from across the mat, and when the ten seconds are up the only thing that their group has settled on is _My Cherie Amour_ by Stevie Wonder.

They make it through the chorus, relief flooding their faces, now almost sure that they've won. That is…until Rachel Berry smiles wonderfully once Bo points to their team for their rebuttal. Rachel clears her throat before launching herself into Camille's _Ta Douleur_. She makes it through half of the song in perfect French before Bo stops her with a laugh. Group one grimaces – their loss very much apparent now. And when Group two jumps up in victory, Rachel is the loudest, she whoops and she cheers and she hugs _everyone_ from every group with a big laugh…but she leaves Quinn for last, and when they embrace – she stays with her the longest, letting her arms stop their flurry and letting her voice fall into a hum. She sighs around a soft laugh…

"That was fun." She whispers once before detaching herself and launching her body at an unsuspecting Abee, clinging onto her back like a monkey and demanding a piggy back ride. They march out of the gymnasium and back out into the rain – smiling and laughing.

- {||||||||} -

It's the Fourth of July. Quinn is cursing herself for signing up for something so _stupid_. She's pulled awake at 5:15am by Rachel Berry, and thrust into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She trips over someone's Field Hockey stick and nearly bites the dust before catching herself on the post of someone else's bed – Gracie's she thinks. Said girl mumbles sleepily before turning over and Quinn whispers a tired "Sorry" as she blindly manages to make it behind the door. When she emerges from the bathroom, Rachel Berry is already dressed in running compression shorts and a running top; she has a light zip up pulled around her arms and a bandana around her head. Quinn watches Rachel stretch out her hamstrings silently as she manages to change into her own running clothes: a Pre-Cheerio Squad Nike Crew Top, and her matching Squad Nike Pro Shorts. She ties her iPod case around her arm and lets her ear buds fall around her color as she grabs her shades and her running shoes. When she looks up – Rachel is staring at her, mouth half open and eyes wide.

"What?" Quinn whispers, just as she grabs for her water bottle and drawstring back pack. She hastily fills it with her windbreaker and a visor as Rachel stares.

"N-Nothing." Rachel stammers, her cheeks reddening. Quinn tilts her head with a curious smile. She looks down at her own body and realizes just how tight everything must look. It hugs her comfortably, and through her shirt she can make out the soft definition of her abs and her sports bra. Quinn looks back up – smirking openly now. She grabs her drawstring backpack with a blush and rearranges her sunglasses before walking out of the cabin, straight past a flushed Rachel Berry and out into the cold early Maine morning.

"You better get moving, the bus doesn't wait for Creepers." She sing songs, and from outside the door, she can hear Rachel's huff of indignation before the door swings shut and a mildly embarrassed Rachel Berry is sidling up nest to her, interlocking their arms.

"Shut up." Rachel whispers harshly, and Quinn laughs – a little bit happier that she decided to do this run now that she knows that Rachel can appreciate the view.

"Who knew you could be so _pervy_?" Quinn laughs.

"_SHUT UP_."

- {||||||||} -

When they get to Tanglewood for 5:30am breakfast, there are at least thirty other campers and counselors milling about, all of them eating light meals of bananas, grapefruit, and granola with yogurt. Everyone looks sleepy, all of them donning running apparel and carrying canteens and water bottles in their backpacks. Quinn and Rachel follow Olivia Aaron to the tracker table and sign off on the Check- In List with Bo. She hands them both a tracker for their shoes and a race bib.

"Ready for Four on the Fourth?" Bo smiles, handing them safety pins. Quinn shrugs her shoulders while Rachel and Olivia smile brightly.

"More than ready, Bo. I'm so excited to celebrate our nation's independence with an early morning 4K." Bo smiles at Rachel before checking off the other campers and counselors who have begun to line up for their own bibs. Within half an hour their entire group is flooding into their camp school bus headed for Brighton, ME for the annual run. It's a forty-minute bus ride. Quinn and Rachel sit together, while Rachel hums along to her iPod, Quinn falls in and out of sleep. By the time the make it to the Race, there are thousands of people lining up, and heading to the starting line. The Four on the Fourth Race is an annual Brighton tradition, and Pinewood has been participating as a camp entry for the last ten years or so, bringing willing campers and counselors along to represent their camp. They're surrounded by men, women, and children of all ages and demographics, all of them wearing bibs – there are even dozens more groups of camps just like their own – campers and counselors huddled together from all over Maine and New Hampshire. Their group spots their brother camp group just across the way: _Cedarwood_. Cedarwood is owned by the same family that owns their own camp – they're campground sits ten minutes away, and while they're a boys only program – all of their activities are nearly exactly the same – save for Flag Football and Roller Hockey. They even have Color War at the boy's camp: Brown and Red. And a good percentage of the girls at Pinewood have brothers attending Cedarwood as well. The Pinewood and Cedarwood counselors all know one anther too – from what Abby and Gabriela have told her, all of the counselors are hired as a whole, and trained together between both camps before the campers arrive. Quinn watches as a few of the guy counselors say hello – she recognizes some of them from Lovewell pond where they teach water sports alongside the female counselors. Rachel pulls her hand over to the boy's group waving at someone that Quinn recognizes from the year before but whom she doesn't particularly know. He's tall for their age, and he's surrounded by a few of his friends as they laugh and take pictures before the race. His black hair is wavy and semi shaggy and when he looks up he smiles at Rachel, waving her over. Quinn narrows her eyes as she's dragged along.

"Hey Kumquat!" He yells, reaching out his fist for Rachel to pound. Quinn rolls her eyes – boys their age are idiots – and sometimes they can be real assholes. Quinn purses her lips.

"Hi Dylan!" Rachel smiles. She turns to the other boys and smiles brightly. "Hello Greg, Wyatt, and Aaron!" They all wave sheepishly before turning around and involving themselves in a game of hacky sack.

"Haven't seen you in _for – fucking – ever_, applesauce." Dylan says. Quinn rolls her eyes again at the boy's need to drop the f-bomb. It's almost ridiculous how annoying it is to know that the boy is trying _so_ hard. She decides to ignore the way that he calls Rachel a different type of fruit every time he addresses her. It's not very clever, and _applesauce_ isn't even a fruit, he might as well quit while he's ahead before Quinn kicks him in the nuts _just because. _

"I know! It sucks that we haven't really had any co-eds yet. But the dances start next week for second year seniors, and the play auditions are on Monday." Rachel beams. What Quinn never really understood was the fixation on Musical Theatre here at Pinewood. She and Rachel were too young to participate in the co-ed play last year, and they had also both missed the performance do their stint in the Doctor's Cabin. And so Quinn still didn't quite understand the interest surrounding the whole thing. But this year was the first year that anyone their age could audition; Rachel couldn't stop talking about it the more that the audition dates approached. Quinn was excited for Rachel because Rachel was excited, but now that she was staring at the boys who would no doubt be auditioning as well, she couldn't help but scowl. She had forgotten all about _the boys _at Cedarwood. Quinn watches Dylan smile back, pounding Rachel's fist again.

"Oh, whose your friend by the way. My bad, my name is Dylan…Dylan McIntyre." The shaggy haired boy reaches out a hand, and Quinn doesn't take it. Rachel pinches Quinn in the side.

"This is Quinn, we're both in Cabin 30. She was here last year too, I'm surprised you two haven't met." Dylan shrugs, pulling his hand back to flow through his hair, messing it up even more.

"Yea, cool. Nice meeting you." Quinn fakes a smile.

"Yea." Quinn mumbles, pulling her shades back down to obscure the hostility behind her eyes. Just as things start to get awkwardly silent between them, Rachel hears the five-minute warning bell for the race. She smiles apologetically to Dylan before turning on her heel and dragging Quinn with her back to their group. Quinn bites her lip now that they get ready for the race, their Pinewood group stretches in a small huddle, and the entire time – Rachel doesn't look at her. It's disconcerting, and Quinn is almost positive that it's all Dylan McIntyre's fault.

- {||||||||} -

By the time the gun bellows, Quinn let's go. She has her music blaring in her ears, as she sets a steady pace. She came into the race expecting to keep pace with Rachel the whole way even though the shorter girl isn't as athletically inclined. Quinn wanted to run with Rachel, to smile and laugh through their trek. But as the gun boomed, Quinn found Rachel branching off, instead turning to run with Olivia Miller and Madison White. The blonde found herself running alone, independent within her own thoughts. Initially, a white hot blade of fury coursed just behind Quinn's eyes when she saw Rachel break away – it was quickly replaced by a mild hurt, the ache settling deep within her chest. But now that she has her solitude, she's transformed it into a quiet determination. She runs the way that Sue Sylvester taught her how – with wide lungs and a fast, but maintained pace. She realizes that she's moving quickly when she starts passing people who at the beginning looked like they would be better than her. At the first checkpoint, she doesn't stop for water – she runs along the sidelines of the concrete trail and through a stream of hose water that a generous townie is holding up just off of the sidelines.

Her feet hit the pavement with purpose as she weaves around other runners - the quiet storm of her thoughts propelling her forward through the crowd. She doesn't stop at checkpoint two – nor does she look at the timer. By checkpoint three, Quinn's lungs feel full and she pushes through it, thinking of Sue Sylvester and Santana Lopez, and Dylan freaking McIntyre…. all of the people that she plans to prove wrong. By checkpoint four, she's lost most of her anger, and only runs with heart – the only thing she has left. And so she runs for Frannie, and for Leroy and Hiram Berry…she runs for Rachel, but most of all she runs for herself. And by the time she reaches that final leg, she can faintly hear the muffled sounds of cheering onlookers as she crosses the finish line. When she looks up she's slowly escorted to the hydration table and given ample smart waters and Powerades – volunteers hand her watermelon slices and oranges. And when she looks up, she sees her name on the digital board displaying current record holders by age, sex, and division.

_19-25: G. Chou: 21:09 O. Kyle: 23:15_

_16-18: R. Curry: 23:56 L. Murray: 25:00_

_12-15: M. Lor: 23:52 Q. Fabray: 24:37_

Quinn exhales, panting softly around a slice of seedless watermelon. She watches the finish line as other Pinewood/Cedarwood campers and staff all make their way across the threshold and toward the hydration table. She gets several appraising looks from the counselors of both camps as they see her name on the large display. They congratulate her and she thanks them with thinly veiled indifference. Dylan McIntyre crosses the line at exactly 30:24 with a tired look on his face and flushed cheeks. He glances down at Quinn as he walks by, and Quinn scowls at him – he scurries away and heads for the watermelon. When Rachel finally appears, she looks tired but she's smiling as she crosses the finish line sandwiched in between Olivia and Madison. They make a time of 39:12, and although it's far from the best, Quinn watches them cheer and high five one another. They make their way towards the hydration table and Rachel stops when she sees Quinn. The brunette studies her quizzically as her chest relaxes and expands with the quickness of her breath. Rachel grabs a Powerade and sits down next to Quinn, staring forward as they take one another in.

"Congratulations on your Record. I didn't know you were such an adept runner Quinn." Rachel says. Her breath fans out around her and Quinn shrugs her shoulders. Rachel sighs dramatically, her eyes squinting in annoyance.

"You're so nasty when you're jealous." Rachel pants. She takes a swig from her red Powerade and frowns down into the grass between her feet. She's sticky and sweaty and the blades of grass rub themselves along her skin leaving dirt trails across her ankles and her calves. Quinn squints her eyes and lowers her sunglasses to cover her eyes. They sit quietly as Quinn nods, leaning back to rest on her palms.

"I know." Rachel nods her head. She bites her bottom lip softly.

"You know I don't like Dylan…_like that_, right?" Quinn nods shyly.

"Then why were you so...?" Rachel starts, before the words die down in her throat. Quinn picks at a few blades a grass before sucking in a full breath. She holds it for a moment, letting her burning lungs fill with the rich air. When she releases her breath, it's almost like she's releasing every insecurity that she held onto at the beginning of this race. She turns to Rachel, lowering her sunglasses.

"I'm sorry." She whispers quietly. Rachel turns to stare at her with piercing brown eyes.

"Yea, I know."

- {||||||||} -

When they arrive back at Pinewood, it's just after breakfast time for everyone else. They walk into Tanglewood tiredly and smile at the streams of red white and blue on the walls. The other campers cheer and clap for them, all of them already dressed festively for the day. When Quinn makes it back to the cabin she lets Rachel shower first. They have the cabin alone for a while since everyone else aside from the runners left to go get started on the day's activities. Quinn taps her feet softly against her bed, and when Rachel emerges from her shower, her hair is wet and pulled over her shoulder. Quinn watches the brunette disappear behind a cubby, emerging moments later wearing blue pants and a red tank top with a candy cane on it. Quinn walks past her so that she can take her own shower, and when she exits, Rachel is still there, painting her fingernails in honor of Independence. Quinn dresses in the only clothes she has that are somewhat appropriate. She dons seersucker short overalls – the blue and white stripes very subtle against the red of her tank top and the blue of her baseball cap. She puts on a pair of grey converse low tops and she pulls her hair into a high ponytail, donning a red and polka dotted ribbon around the tie. She looks down and finds her face paint that she brought with her this summer, and she trails the paint marker across her cheeks in two identical lines. And when Rachel looks up – Quinn smiles down at her, approaching the girl on steady feet.

"You look nice." Rachel whispers, her toenails are dry, and she's in the middle of pulling up her red and white tube socks.

"So do you." And without a word from the brunette, Quinn takes the blue marker from her set and slowly draws it across Rachel's right cheek. Their bodies face one another, and their noses almost touch as Quinn draws with a slow determination. She follows the gesture with another line on Rachel's other cheek, her fingers slow and deliberate. And when the marker disconnects with Rachel's skin, the two girls are left staring at each other in the empty cabin, their eyes curiously bright and the air around them crackling with the force of their own electricity.

"I'm – I'm so excited for you to do the play." Quinn whispers, and Rachel nods shyly.

"You'll be amazing. The best." The words ghost across Rachel's lips and the brunette sighs. They stay like that for milliseconds, seconds really – before Rachel tilts her head, and leans up, her arms tangling in the comforter beneath her palms. Their lips touch softly – and Quinn can taste Rachel's chapstick, it's sweet and medicinal almost. And then they're kissing harder now – and the taste is distinctly Rachel. And Quinn wonders why they haven't done this since before camp…why they keep waiting so long to just _be._ And when their lips disconnect, Rachel sighs on a smile, her eyes deep. Quinn leans over and kisses Rachel's cheek, just above the paint. She lets her lips fall to the brunette's ear, and with a soft smile she whispers.

"But if you and Dylan McIntyre play a couple in the play, I'll kick his butt Rachel…because you and I…we're meant to be."

And all Rachel can do is laugh, it's loud and raucous and it shakes off of the cabin walls. She reaches over for Quinn's hand and pulls them up to their feet, and then through the cabin door. And as they walk to the lower field, fingers intertwined, and gearing themselves up for the Fourth of July Camp Carnival taking place there – Rachel lifts up on her tippy toes, stilling Quinn's advance.

"And if the time comes, and if he gets too handsy…permission granted Fabray."

Quinn beams.


	12. Chapter 12

**DELICATE BEGINNINGS**

**[FALL 2007/SUMMER 2008]**

"_Fingers do dig in, the moon pulls the waves._

_My heart paints castles with your hands._

_While the foaming shore we brave."_

**(August)**

* * *

"From the TOP!" Red Pendleton proclaims into his megaphone. He sits with one leg crossed over the other, sipping from a bottled water. His naturally wavy hair hangs around his weathered face due to the high percentage of humidity in the air. The gray tendrils are wiry and brushed back out of his face as he goes over lists and lists of director's notes. Quinn looks from just offstage as everyone gets into position, finishing the small touches on the last few scenes of _Bye Bye Birdie_ for the final dress rehearsal. She's in her all black stage crew attire – Red had almost insisted that she accept the role of _Kim MacAfee_ the secondary female lead – but Quinn could only shake her head and turn him down. She was never a fan of the stage and all of its many vices, too concerned with her own insecurities to ever feel comfortable under the spotlight. Center stage was always meant for men and women like _Rachel_, the brunette was born to be on the stage – a Broadway star that Broadway had yet to even meet. Red had nearly had a conniption, never once having an actress who auditioned turn down a top tier roll in the fifteen years that he's been directing the co-ed play. Quinn had bitten her lip at the time, staring at the notes of script and stage directions littering Red's small table in the back of the Pinewood Auditorium office. She had blown out a few wisps of her bangs as her eyes inconspicuously rolled over the marginal notes and scribbled remarks of his director's clipboard, the corners of her lips twitching with interest.

"What am I going to do…I have no other girls who are as good, who could really pull Kay off…this is a mess…not enough time, no set crew." Red was muttering to himself, pulling out tendrils of gray hair as he went. And Quinn took the opportunity to really read the pages before her. She took a seat – grabbing for the papers and notes, all as Red mumbled off on a tangent. And after half an hour and a substantial amount of information read, Quinn Fabray knew that she wanted to be a part of this production. Just not in the way that Red Pendleton and everyone else would have anticipated.

"Assistant Director? Are you kidding me, kid?"

"Of course not. Listen…" And another fifteen minutes passed as Quinn pointed out loopholes in his casting, and potential changes in scheduling and production. By the end of it Red was sure that fourteen-year-old Quinn Fabray was a co-ed play _miracle_. And in the fifteen years since the co-ed play's inception, she would be the first camper to take on the Assistant Directorial role. Quinn spent weeks meeting with Red during rehearsal activity periods – she worked with the stage and production crew of campers. Because of her need to work with the boys at Cedarwood, she was over there three times a week rehearsing with the boys and meeting with Red instead of attending her usual Tennis lessons during 6th and 7th period. It had been three weeks worth of frenzy and forgotten lines, lighting problems and Color War to top it all off.

- {||||||||} -

_**(Late July)**_

_They're all sitting in the Cabin around four bags of popcorn and a rather intense game of Apples to Apples. The girls from Cabin 29 are there too, they gossip about Cedar boys and what it'll be like to all live together in Pine 1 next year. It'll be a completely different experience…all of the second year seniors move up together to live in Pine 1. For the first time they won't be separated by Cabin. Cabins 32,31,30, and 29 will turn into the giant mass that is Pine 1. It's an exhilarating thought…but for Quinn it's also a bit daunting. She's come to know the girls in her cabin as sisters, and while she's close to the other girls their age – she finds that they remind her of the people that she left back in Lima. She envisions them as catty private school future WASPS with perfect grades and perfect boyfriends. She sees Ivy Leagues in most of their futures, and it's almost aggravating. Not that she's any different really – she comes from one of the most financially secure families in central Ohio. But for some reason, Quinn Fabray just can't shake her mild disdain._

"_So, how exciting is it that you and Dylan are both leads for Birdie?" Taylor from Cabin 32 gushes. She's blonde with a light sprinkle of freckles along her cheekbones, her light brown eyes scan the room settling on Rachel just as she places down the next Green Apple Card: LUSCIOUS. _

"_I don't know. He's cool, a tad presumptuous when it comes to his acting ability granted, but I think he'll do a good job." Rachel shrugs. Quinn is sitting next to the brunette; she looks up curiously, biting her lip as Rachel places down her Red Apple Card._

"_I mean, I get that…but don't you think he's totally hot? I mean…he looks like a younger version of that guy who plays a werewolf in that new Twilight movie coming out this year, what's his name."_

"_Taylor Lautner." Gracie corrects._

"_Taylor." Ali Bergman from Cabin 29 mutters with fluttering eyelashes._

"_Taylor Hottie McHotHot Lautner." Avery concedes, nodding her head in approval. _

_Rachel nods along rather unaffected as Taylor turns over the Red Apple Cards one by one. She picks up the Rosie O'Donnell card with a laugh and Avery slams her hand down onto the floor in victory as she snatches the green card away and into her growing pile. _

"_Actually, while I can appreciate Taylor Lautner's wonderful form, I've always felt that Kristen Stewart is much more attractive in her own right. She's not exactly my personal preference but I like the eccentricity of her personality." Taylor and Rebecca Polish stare at the brunette with open mouths and tilted expressions. Quinn's left eyebrow raises dangerously close to her hairline._

"_Oh…so you must be… Team Edward." Taylor struggles to get the words out, but she manages, her eyebrows still furrowed as she stares in Rachel's direction. Rachel grimaces, shrugging her shoulders again._

"_Oh…gosh. NO. I think that Robert Pattinson looked _barely decent_ in Harry Potter…now he just looks homeless." Quinn raises her other eyebrow, she isn't sure that this is a conversation Rachel should be having but she can't stop it. _

"_Oh…" Taylor mumbles. The card game forgotten as they all stare between the two girls._

"_I'm just not that interested in any of them…or any of the boys at Cedarwood for that matter." Rachel admonishes before grabbing another handful of popcorn. Quinn blushes slightly, skirting her hand over Rachel's as she reaches for a new Red Apple Card. The brunette smiles down at her as their fingers brush. _

"_So…you won't be mad if I ask Dylan out at the dance this Wednesday?" Madison asks hopefully. And then Taylor is scoffing in Madison's direction._

"_You mean, when I ask him out, Madison?" And suddenly Avery finds herself interjecting. Rachel shrugs her shoulders again as she and everyone else lie forgotten, and so they all miss it when Quinn sneaks a kiss to the soft spot behind Rachel's ear. Except for Veronica that is. The dark haired girl raises her eyebrows, as her lips fall into a curious line. She taps her fingers against the nearest bedframe with a renewed vigor._

"_¿Que coño?" Veronica whispers. _

_And just as the girls Dylan debate reaches new heights, there is a loud rumbling coming from down the cabin line. It gets louder and louder with each passing second, and soon they can hear yelling voices and confused screams. Strong hands rapp at Cabin 30's door and disappear down the cabin line. "GO TO THE LOWER FIELD NOW!" they hear the ambiguous voices yell, and suddenly everyone is rising up in excited panics, they fight over flip flops and forget to grab hoodies as they run out into the dark night, following the trails of campers already ahead of them as they follow the Christmas lights trailing the campgrounds, leading the way. They march through a thicket of pine trees, encapsulated within a whirl of Christmas lights. The entire camp is here, and Quinn stares up in awe at the circle of starlight visible above the treetops, she spots Orion and beams as Rachel grabs her hand, wrapping herself around Quinn's back with an excited squeal as they all settle around one another, both excited and nervous. This is what they missed out on last year, granted Color War breaks differently every summer…but the feel of it is always the same. The wonder, and the excitement – Quinn looks over at the Pines, all of them sit in silence, hands intertwined, heads bowed as they await the Captaincy announcements – it really is an honor here – to be granted such a role of leadership, some of these girls have Mothers and Grandmothers who were Captains once upon a time, women who once upon a time etched their names in pen on their very cabin walls. Quinn decides in that moment…. that if she could achieve anything else here at Pinewood, it would be that. Frannie would be so proud of her. _

_And then there are cheers from out front, and hooded counselorss approach out of the darkness holding candles. One of them ignites the campfire and suddenly, without kindling or stoking, a flame erupts in the center of the pine clearing, showing two large planks of wood. The fire burns, and as the wood is engulfed, a thin paper covering the surface burns away revealing the four names of the Captains in Gold ink for Tan and Emerald ink for Green._

_Leah Pope – GREEN TEAM CAPTAIN_

_Cassidy Reiner – GREEN TEAM CO. CAPTAIN_

_ Hunter Reed – TAN TEAM CAPTAIN_

_ Lindsay Seneca – TAN TEAM CO. CAPTAIN_

_And then there are screams of celebration. _

_No one gets any sleep, and by the time Quinn makes it back to Cabin 30 she's exhausted. Only Tegan and Sky have arrived before her and they sit on top of their beds buzzing with excitement, already pinning their new Color War Pins to their stuffed animals to accompany the other ones. Quinn smiles, she maneuvers to her own bed and does the same with her small yellow pin – and when she hears the door open, she smiles when she sees Rachel enter with Veronica and Avery. Veronica is laughing at something but when the door opens, it falls away and then she's glancing between Quinn and Rachel curiously. _

"_Are your parents coming this summer for eh, Parent's Weekend, Raychel?" Veronica asks, her accent heavy as she makes her way to the corner where her bed is. Rachel pauses in the middle of changing to shake her head in the negative._

"_No, they're on a cruise with my grandmother, they are rather disappointed that they can't make it up though." This information is new to Quinn and the blonde perks up, her features a bit sad at the news, she had been rather looking forward to seeing the Berry Men, even though she sees them all the time at home._

"_Eh, and you Quinn? Are your parents coming?" Quinn shakes her head._

"_Nope. But it's fine. I don't really miss them anyway, I do wish my sister could visit though." Rachel smiles sadly in Quinn's direction, a nod of affirmation at the mention of Frannie. _

"_My parents won't come too. It's eh, too _lejos? _Maybe you should come with the Spanish group to the mall in North Conway." Quinn pauses to stare over at Rachel who's shrugging her shoulders. Honestly Quinn talks to Veronica the least out of everyone in their cabin, not out of favoritism, it's just that Veronica is always gone, hanging out in Cabins 32 and 29 for most of the day. And so it's with a happy confusion that Rachel and Quinn accept. Veronica lifts her eyebrow in their direction and smiles._

_By the next week, the camp is in full Color War fury. And this time Quinn can really appreciate the competition now that she can actually compete. It surprises her how competitive Rachel really is when can athletically participate – and Quinn realizes that she _loves_ Color War. She's easily the most athletic senior girl on their entire team – something that the Tan Team couldn't have taken advantage of the year before because of her ankle injury. But now…Quinn swims and she plays tennis, and runs in the annual Marathon all in the name of the Tan Team. And she's freaking good at it. Rachel on the other hand, plays marginally okay where sports are concerned, but the girl is a fish in the water – and when it comes to Color War events, her musical prowess has everyone beat. The Color War events have been in place since the 1930's and have never changed, and neither has the point system, it is as follows:_

_The Swim Meet: a standard swim meet with traditional 100, 200, and 400 meter relays and medleys and individual events. Winners for certain events gain an allotted number of points for their teams, and the team with the most points wins. By winning the swim meet, said team receives between 30 and 45 points._

_The Sporting Events: Juniors play Grounders, or Soccer. Intermediates play Softball or Beach Volleyball. Seniors play Tennis, and Pines play Basketball. Each game is worth points, the team that achieves the most points wins, winning between 40 and 55 points._

_The Counselor Hunt: Counselors are given an undisclosed number of points based on their seniority at camp. The team that finds and collects the most points wins between 70 and 85 points._

_Tug- O- War: The team that can pull the other team over the allotted line first wins their team 60 points._

_The Marathon: The Marathon consists of 120 continuous events, accompanied by the passing of the baton. It ends with the assembly of a ten person human pyramid. The team that completes it in the fastest time wins 100-120 points._

_The Sing: An 80+ year tradition at Pinewood. The Captains of both teams must create three new songs: A Team Song, A Good Luck Song to the other team, and a Camp Alma Mater. Each team must learn their three new songs, as well as the 10 old camp songs that have been a part of Camp Pinewood since it's creation. The Sing is the most traditional event, and hasn't changed in the 80+ years since it was created as a Color War event. The team that wins the sing wins between 200-250 points. _

_The Sing is the end all of end all events. Quinn still doesn't really understand it. But what she does know, is that it stresses the Captains out more than any other event on the list. The songs that they learn, are taught in Team rallies, and kept a total secret from the other team until the day of the event. And this is where Rachel is a genius, Quinn can already tell. By the time August rolls around there are only two events left, and camp life is abuzz with the approaching Cedarwood/Pinewood Camp Prom, and the Co-Ed play. The boys are also in the middle of their own Color War and so tensions are high and excitement grips everyone like a drum. In the midst of it all Parent's Weekend descends and launches the camp into a 72 hour hiatus full of gymnastic shows and Parent/Daughter Tennis Matches. It's another year for Quinn of saying hello to all of her friend's parents and siblings. This year Gracie's mom brings them Cabin 30 Sweatpants with their names ironed down the leg in big block letters. Avery brings customized Cabin 30 snapbacks that are grey with purple bills. They have the Pinewood symbol on them and say their names across the snap in purple embroidery. On family outing day, Rachel and Quinn keep their word and leave with the Spanish campers to North Conway to go to the shopping centers. They sit toward the back of the bus singing a Spanish hand game with some of the older girls that have taught them._

"_En la call-lle-lle veinticuatro-tro, _

_Habido-do-do un asesinato-to._

_Una vieja-ja mato un ga-to-to,_

_Con la punta-ta del zapato-to."_

_It's a silly song that has them all falling over in laughter even though Quinn has no idea what she's singing about. By the time they make it to the North Conway outdoor shopping center, Quinn and Rachel disappear with Veronica into the nearest PacSun. They laugh over sunglasses and try on bikinis and jeans for fun. Rachel and Quinn are extra handsy without the added attention of their other cabin mates and Veronica takes notice, letting them behave the way they do with curious glances. By 2pm, Quinn and Rachel lose Vero somewhere in the Gap and seat themselves under a small picnic table off of the main outdoor pavilion. Rachel is in Quinn's laps, her hair pulled back in a ponytail as Quinn's hands twine around the smaller girls waist, rubbing her fingers in soft circles. She places a hot kiss to Rachel's exposed shoulder blade, before breathing out into the humidity of the afternoon._

"_Camp is my favorite place because of you." Rachel turns in her lap with a smile, she pulls Quinn's eyes up to her own as she traces the outline of the blonde's strong, yet delicate jaw._

"_You're beautiful." Rachel whispers. And when their lips meet, Quinn swears she can feel all of the heat of the day in her fingertips as they continue to drag lazily over Rachel's skin. Her tongue swipes at the corner of Rachel's bottom lip, and she sighs into the kiss as Rachel opens her mouth wider – settling down over Quinn's thighs with a renewed sense of vigor and an endless stream of security. They stay like that for a while, it isn't until Quinn feels a tap on her shoulder that she jumps away – her hazel eyes wide and her fingertips humming as her eyes settle on Veronica – bottom lip caught between the other girl's teeth and an understanding in her eyes._

"_It's not – we –"_

"_I, um…"_

"_Dios, callate. No voy a decir nada…I won't say anything."_

_Quinn is panting now, and Rachel's eyes are wide as she pulls herself up out of Quinn's lap. _

"_Why not?" Quinn whispers, eyes still in a scared daze._

"_My twin sister…she's eh like you. At home she can't be herself because of our parents. And I – don't like that. You remind me of her. She's in Spain at camp for Padel."_

_And just like that it became an unspoken thing between them. Quinn, Vero, and Rachel. All united together under a similar bond. At fourteen none of them could entirely understand their need for one another, but it was there beneath everything else. _

- {||||||||} -

**(August)**

And so it is with determined eyes and deep seeded creative curiosity, that Quinn excels at directing. Sure, it's only a small co-ed play at a relatively unkown camp in the middle of Southern Maine. But she can tell that she's good at it by the way that the other campers respect her decisions, girls like Erin Lehmann and boys from the equivalent Cedar cabins look to her for guidance and validation. Rachel beams at her from the wings backstage with a pride in her chest unrivaled, and Quinn gives it right back. On opening day, the entire boys and girls camp combine for the production that is _Bye Bye Birdie_. Quinn stands with Red in the corner, before introductions and she watches as Red makes his trek to center stage, introductions in order. And when the lights dim, and Rachel first steps out onto that stage…Quinn can feel it in her bones…this is where they belong.

- {||||||||} -

Rachel's voice is beautiful, like warm honey and summer lilies. Quinn has to shake Robbie Michaels awake so that he can make his cue, and she almost forgets about it because Rachel is _singing_.

- {||||||||} -

By the time the curtain falls, the entire camp audience is up on their feet in applause. The boys can be heard whistling and whooping from their section while the girls scream for their friends and jump up and down from their seats. The cast comes out for their encore bow, and Rachel is front center next to Dylan McIntyre (who she completely outshined of course) and they get the highest applause. And then Red is walking onstage with a beaming smile and a bouquet of roses, and he picks up the microphone calling Quinn's name:

"For the little Assistant Director I didn't want or need, but who was the thread behind this magnificent tapestry. What you saw tonight was because of her hard work and dedication…Quinn get UP HERE!" And then there is more applause…for her. And the blush on Quinn's cheek is almost as red as the twelve roses that she holds within her hands. Rachel is the first to hold on to her, her arms are warm and tight, and Quinn returns the embrace with the biggest smile that she's had in a long time.

"I told you, you'd be the best Berrylicious." Quinn laughs.

"But you didn't tell me that I'd be tied with _you_." Rachel laughs back. And then the campers are all filing out leaving the cast to cheer and yell as they surround Quinn and Rachel in a giant group hug, their bodies spinning and jumping across the stage as Red smiles on.

"Good job this year kids, good job…._ best play yet_."

- {||||||||} -

Green Team wins the Sing, they cheer and yell and hug their friends from the Tan Team who've lost. And when the Color War winner is announced that night at the end of the summer banquet, no one is surprised when a banner of Emerald is swing from rafter to rafter across Tanglewood. Rachel smiles beside Quinn, and Quinn although having lost, can do nothing but smile back.

- {||||||||} -

"You do realize that I'll see you tomorrow right?" Quinn whispers from beside Rachel as they watch the first of five Coach buses arrive in the early morning hours, carriages waiting to take them all back home. Rachel sniffles, her bottom lip trembling as she clutches to the pockets of Quinn's hoodie.

"I know." She whispers thickly. From beside them Veronica and Sky hug Gracie who is leaving on the first bus. Everyone in Tanglewood is a mess of tears and sloppy hugs and goodbyes…it feels like then end of an era. And Quinn can't stop the lump that rises in her throat as she watches her friends descend the final Tanglewood stops, disappearing behind bus doors to not be seen again until next year. Quinn is going to be picked up by her parents. She's one of the few kids here that will be left to suffer the loneliness' of an abandoned campground that once held so much life. Rachel clings tightly, her bags packed and her backpack hanging off of one shoulder. By the time Bus 2 rolls around, Rachel is in complete tears, she hiccups around her sobs and Quinn has to hold her in order to make sure that she won't completely fall apart. Quinn is crying to too, hard and silently the tears fall into the crown of Rachel's hair as the blonde rocks them from side to side.

"I don't want to go back, please don't make me go back Quinn. Please, I want to stay. I don't want to go, I don't want to go." It's like a mantra. And Quinn knows it well. They'll be both heading to McKinley at the end of the month, and the blonde knows it better than most, just how alone Rachel Berry is when she isn't _here_. Quinn wishes that their lives could be different…better than the reality that they're both coming home to.

"I'll be there Berry, okay? I'll be right there." Quinn whispers. And then Veronica is coming to hug them goodbye with tears in her eyes. Quinn smiles and they all jump up and down trying to get the sadness out of the air. Sky, Avery, Tegan and Gracie are joining in, and when the Bus pulls up and Rachel has to go, Quinn holds her for as long as she can. She slips a note into Rachel's hand, before watching her go with blurry eyes and tightening in her chest.

And thirty minutes later when Rachel is on her way to Boston with forty other kids from Pinewood and Cedarwood she opens her letter from Quinn, her heart stopping and the tears in her eyes welling up for another go:

"You're my best friend Rachel Berry. I had the summer of a _lifetime_…all because of a girl from Lima with big dreams and a bigger heart who has always believed in me. I love you, Q."

"I love you too." Rachel whispers out of a foggy window, her eyes heavy with sleep and her heart indescribably lighter.

- {||||||||} -

By 4pm her Father's Mercury is pulling into the gravel parking lot. Quinn rests on the steps of the front office, her bags at her feet and her chin in her hands as she eyes the vehicle forlornly. It isn't until she sees her sister; stepping out of the driver side with the keys in her hand and a smile on her face does Quinn brighten. She picks up her things and waves at the last few counselors still milling about before racing into her sisters embrace.

"Fran, what are you doing here?"

"Russell and Judy are away on vacation in Hawaii, I got stuck with picking up my bratty little sister from summer camp."

"They let you drive all this way by yourself?"

"What? Hell no. I lied and said I was coming up here with my friend Val."

"You're such a liar, Frannie." Quinn smiles.

"What Mom and Dad don't know won't hurt 'em." Quinn nods before throwing her bags in the trunk and climbing into the passenger side. Frannie follows suit buckling up behind the wheel. She pulls her aviators down over her eyes and revs the engine, the radio speakers blare to life as they back out of the parking lot.

"Time for a much needed sister Road Trip back to the land of broken dreams and cow shit." Frannie cheers, her grin wide. Quinn laughs in between changing radio stations.

"You're so charming, Fran."

"Oh, shut up. You love me."

* * *

A/N: wow, everyone i'm so glad that you're all enjoying where I'm taking you on this adventure. The great thing that I love about this story is that the camp theme behind it is completely real and based off of my own real life experiences at a 7 week long sleep-away camp in Maine. I wanted to clarify that yes, there is a lot going on at this summer camp, and everything that I write about are actual things that I and a lot of my friends participated in while we went to camp. Which is awesome, it's a great experience, and I've wondered what it would be like to put Rachel and Quinn into this sort of alternate universe that is actually a reality for a lot of people who've been to camp.

And...I hope i'm somewhat doing the sleep-away camp thing justice. For those of you who've been to sleep-away camp, I am pining for your approval haha. And for those of you who love a good story, read on :) Thank you so much for sticking with me thus far.


	13. Chapter 13

**INTERLUDES [2032]**

"_The tide brings the ebb, it washes through the deep. _

_Like a sweet lovers caress, of whose kiss I do grow weak…"_

**(Present Day)**

* * *

Mel Rivetta's mouth hangs open rather unattractively as Rachel speaks. Every once in a while Quinn Fabray will interject with a witty a comment or a correction or two on whatever kind of embellishments that her wife (ohmygod her _wife_) may have taken ample liberties on. It's funny – watching them. They're normal people, with far from normal lives…but something about them is almost simple.

"That was honestly the _best_ summer, the worst part was having to go back home to Lima of course. It was absolute torture, obviously." Rachel trills. She has the creases of a smile tilting at the corners of her lips as she gesticulates with her hands, pulling the group of Pines into her tale one by one. Quinn nods by her side, her eyes soft – she spends most of the conversation playing with hem of Rachel's windbreaker. A girl by the name of Jessica Michaels looks up at Quinn with an awed curiosity. She stutters as she calls for the two women's attention.

"S-So, have you guys been…dating for that long? Like, were you official?" Mel and the others all nod curiously, eyes wide.

"Oh God no." Rachel scoffs. Quinn chuckles. The blonde scratches the back of her neck self-consciously as most of the eyebrows around them furrow in confusion; it's Natalie who finally finds her voice again, her tone entirely unbelieving.

"Wait, wait, wait…you mean to tell me that we've been listening to this story for damn near an hour and a half, and you two weren't even officially girlfriends through all of that? That fucking sucks." Rachel nods her head, tilting it slightly to the side as she considers Natalie's words. It's Quinn who's suddenly gone a bit nervous, the gorgeous blonde having lowered her eyes, avoiding the disbelieving glances of the girls surrounding them. She takes a moment to clear her throat, a sad smile on her lips as she looks directly at Natalie.

"It's not that hard to believe right? Fourteen-year-old repressed lesbian from a traditional Midwestern Christian family? There were a lot of variables that influenced our decisions, or lack of decision-making back then. My family was one of them, High School was another – I tend to regret a lot of the choices I made as a teenager. Especially in High School, a lot of things have changed."

"Like what?" Mel asks. She has her arms resting in her lap; Tales of Mike Finley, Georgia, and the Cedarwoods boys long forgotten.

"Well…for one, we aren't in Glee Club anymore." Rachel smiles, lightening the mood. Quinn turns to her wife with a silent smile of thanks, and a raised eyebrow. The blonde chuckles to herself lightly.

"That was something of an experience, wasn't it?" Quinn concedes. Rachel nods vigorously.

"Between Santana, Brittany, Sue Sylvester, Will Schuster, Finn Hudson and everyone else… It's a miracle we survived – you and I."

"It is." Quinn smirks. Her smile widening as she shakes an arm around her wife's waist, her hazel eyes glinting against the summer glare.

"What the hell is Glee Club?" Natalie mumbles. The young counselor is chewing audibly on a stick of gum as she scrunches her eyes. The girls around them all stare between one another, shrugging their shoulders. Quinn sighs, Rachel laughs.

"Show choir."

"This is really embarrassing, but yes…show choir." And before any of their young audience members can further question them, the bugle sounds with a loud fanfare. "That is the end of fifth period, lunch will be served in thirty minutes. Lunch in thirty minutes." From all around them children of varying ages swirl and run, chatting with one another and linking arms as they all make their exists from activities. A group of juniors, none of them older than seven and a half years old smile at the Pine campers at the basketball court with toothless grins and excited hand waves as they walk together from the swimming pool – hair wet and flip flops squeaking in the dirt.

"Hiiiiiiii Melanieeeeeee." Alex Jale yells from the path leading to the pool. Her two front teeth are missing, and then she's running full force, wet hair flying out behind her before she air tackles Mel Rivetta with a hug, sending water everywhere. Mel laughs, shaking the seven year old off of her back with a series of playful grunts and twists.

"Hey there Alex Bo-Balex. What are you up to?" One of the other Pines asks with a smile. Quinn and Rachel sit back, observing the swirl of girls that make their way around the basketball courts now that morning activities are over. Alex pays them no attention, and they smile at the little girl – recalling a time not so long ago when this place made them just as excited, and instilled within them such a joie de vivre.

"Welllll…we just finished playing Marco Polo at the pool, and then there was this huge frog by the edge of the pool. And it almost jumped in the water, but then Olivia caught it with her _bare hands_ and she didn't even scream or anything."

"Ugh that is so gross. I'm so gonna mention that to her once we get back to Pine 1." Another of the older girls admits. And then Mel is sending Alex over her shoulder and into her lap for a tickle fest. The younger camper squeals and laughs loudly while some of the other girls finally decide to get up off of the ground. It's a slow, languid disbanding, but suddenly their intimate circle is gone, and then there are girls disappearing down the dirt path back to either their Pine 1 or Pine 2 cabins. When Rachel looks up, the only people left are Mel, Alex, Quinn and Natalie. They sit together quietly while Alex tries to tickle Mel out of retaliation.

"What cabin are you in?" Quinn asks the young girl. Alex stops trying to scurry around, and she stops, panting slightly when she looks up at the older blonde woman.

"Five." Alex nearly shouts. Mel laughs before beginning to braid the younger girl's wet hair into French braids.

" I used to be a CIT for that cabin when I was in Pine One." Alex stares at the older women now with closer attention. She tilts her head as Mel parts her hair.

"What's a CIT?" She asks, face lifting up to peer questioningly at Melanie Rivetta.

"Do you remember how on Sundays when the Counselors have to go their counselor weekly meeting, some of the Pines come and visit your cabin to watch you guys?" Natalie says it fondly, ruffling the girl's bangs with a smile.

"You mean, like Olivia and Amelia?"

"Yep." Natalie replies. Melanie, Quinn and Rachel all nod.

"Ohhhhhh. Are you're a CIT? I've never seen you before." Rachel and Quinn both laugh with a soft chuckle, shaking their heads.

"Nope sweetie, we're just visitors. But we used to be campers here a long, looooong time ago." Rachel confesses.

"Really? My aunt was a camper here too." Rachel perks up, her eyes brightening.

"When was that?"

"Um…I dunno. But her name is Avery Erin Davis, and she was on the Green Team like me." Alex is smiling now with a very youthful pride. Whilst Quinn and Rachel both simultaneously trip over their tongues. Natalie stares between their small group for a moment until she finally connects the dots – Avery Erin Davis equals Quinn and Rachel's cabin-mate, Avery. The counselor smiles – Pinewood never failing to amaze her.

"Will you tell her that...Quinn says hello?" The blonde asks, lips tied around a nostalgic smile as she notices the slight family resemblance.

"AND Rachel!" The brunette squeals, arms wrapped tightly around Quinn's waist now. And before much more can be said between the small group, the bugle sounds again announcing five minutes until lunch. With the noise, the same campers from before bound out of sunny cabins heading all for Tanglewood. It's the new languid pace with which the girls around them walk, arm in arm that they actually take in the strangers sitting on the basketball court in mid-conversation. As the seconds pass, curious glances are passed their way as eyes widen, and some of the older girls point excited fingers. Natalie sits up grudgingly and then so do Mel, Alex, Quinn and Rachel – and with an unspoken agreement their foursome make their trek toward the dining hall with slow smiles and a seven and a half year old swinging between two pairs of firm arms. When they arrive for lunch, Alex is whisking Mel away to join her at her Cabin's table while Natalie clears two new spots at the long Pine 1 table in between Hailey Miller and Steph Greenberg. The girls already standing at some of the table seats chatter and squeal as Rachel and Quinn stand beside them – already buzzing with the excitement of it all.

"Oh my GOD, you guys ARE LEGENDS. LEGENDS."

"My cousin is going to be so jealous."

"Rachel, is Ryan Harris just as hot up close as he is on screen? He's totally my future husband." And before either woman can answer, their food is brought to their table by the staff, and suddenly Rachel feels as though she's stepped into a time machine. She smiles down at the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, knowing that she's always hated this particular lunch – and that sentiment hasn't changed one bit. Quinn on the other hand – loved this lunch as a camper, and with a vigor seldom seen the blonde grabs three sandwich halves and two bowls of soup, her hands full.

"Is the Bug Juice still just watered down Crystal Light?" Quinn asks around a mouthful of grilled cheese. Stephanie Greenberg laughs and nods.

"Totally. It still tastes like shit." Hailey Miller contributes. And then Quinn and Rachel are talking with all the girls at the Pine 1 table about favorite camp meals and Tanglewood songs. By Rachel's second bowl of salad, she's nearly full before Melanie Rivetta returns back from her time spent entertaining Cabin five. She squeezes in to Hailey's left and looks over at Quinn and Rachel, a shy smile on her lips.

"So…since we're all here…what… happened with the rest of the story?" Rachel swallows down a few pieces of her fruit salad looking to her wife for permission to continue. Quinn nods, laughing at just how interested these girls have become in their less than spectacular story. Natalie calls over a few of the counselors from the table over, and suddenly there is a full audience, everyone huddled around the last pitcher of bug juice as Rachel clears her throat. The sounds of scraping knives, forks, and laughter fill the void.

"Where was I?"

"Glee Club.

"Show Choir!"

"Oh yes." Rachel nods…. "Now where were we…."


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: FALLING SHORT**

**[FALL 2008/SPRING 2009]**

"_My love is like a castle building in the winter breeze._

_It tumbles and it cracks, the water breaching stormy seas."_

_**(Late August)**_

* * *

_Quinn sits in the backseat of her Father's Mercury Mountaineer— hands folded in her lap and squeezed tightly together between her thighs. It's Frannie who's seated next to her, thin fingers running through the tendrils of hair falling out of Quinn's messy ponytail with worried delicacy. Russell is in the front seat; his smile is wide as he stares between the road and the rear view mirror – eyes always on Frannie – proud smile and unfamiliar eyes._

"_This is it, Francesca. Princeton." He hums. Judy smiles, clearing her throat from the front passenger seat – their mother has tears in her eyes, she hides them from her husband, but Quinn can see the shine against her corneas from the side view mirror. Judy sees Quinn looking and smiles at the reflection, turning away from the curious glare of her youngest daughter. They arrive too quickly to the airport, and before Quinn can process anything, bodies are exiting the car and retrieving luggage. Judy is traveling with Frannie this time – to help her set up her dorm and get acquainted. Their mother fusses over luggage tags and fixing her make-up as Russell carts their bags through the double doors and up to the open ticket counter. _

_Frannie stands behind. They both do, watching with such identical hazel eyes as their parents forge onward – buzzing with the electricity that such an event requires. Francesca blinks quickly, lips parted as the automatic doors slide closed. _

"_This isn't goodbye, remember?" Frannie whispers. Her long fingers tug against Quinn's, such familiar pale skin, and yet so different. Quinn neither nods in the negative or the affirmative, and Frannie worries her bottom lip between her teeth – because Quinn's been awfully quiet – too quiet since they returned home a week and a half ago._

"_Hey…Quinn, look at me." Frannie begs. Eyes heavy and searching – she wonders if she's making a mistake, leaving like this. It is a question that will eat her up, engulf her within its many possibilities and endless ramifications for years and years to come. But she doesn't know this now. And when Quinn tilts her head, there is nothing behind those eyes – they stare up, unblinking – only mildly dilated in the morning sun. Frannie thinks that perhaps to Quinn, she's already been abandoned._

"_I'll call you every day. I won't forget." Quinn shrugs her shoulders, and Frannie has the sudden urge to cry. She thinks that maybe if she lets it happen – she'll shatter right here on the asphalt, staring at her little sister who holds up a mask of indifference so cold, it puts her own Father's to shame. _

"_Quinn…I'm not leaving you. Or Rachel for that matter." Frannie whispers – her eyes wide. She points to Quinn's chest, just under her right collarbone. "I'll always be here." She mumbles. And then Quinn is sort of laughing, a dry cold thing that bristles her insides and makes the older blonde retract her finger, biting her tongue. The younger blonde takes a step back, her eyes roll upward for a second, scanning the clouds overhead before snapping back to meet Frannie's. They are hollow and cold, and the smile playing on Quinn's lips is a grimace more than anything else. And for the first time, Frannie realizes that perhaps Quinn will break – shatter – and her fall from grace will be treacherous and absolute, and all of it will be of her own blame. _

"_You're leaving…don't make promises you can't keep, Fran." And then Frannie is shaking her head, and Quinn is grabbing her bags, pulling them through the double doors._

"_Mom and Dad are waiting for you." She whispers, and Frannie is sure that Quinn is nothing if not a beautiful disaster waiting to happen. And by the time they're in the air, the older blonde sitting next to her lightly snoring mother – Frannie looks down at the screensaver on her phone – a picture of her and Quinn from their road trip, smiles wide and large sunglasses covering their eyes. And she cries…. all the way to Princeton._

- {||||||||} -

**(September)**

Interesting. That's what Quinn would say if she were ever questioned about what it's been like, transitioning to William McKinley High School. The hallways stink of mediocrity, and the student body is one to put even Harrison's to shame. The intermixing of the Harrison and Hoover Middle School kids is almost brackish, but when has Lima and it's populace ever instilled a sense of welcoming joy? The only positive thing here is Rachel_._ They have one class together: Critical Thinking I, the higher-level Freshman English course with Mr. Rickey. They spent most of the weeks leading up to the first day of school together. Inseparable as they sat beneath Rachel's cherry tree, reading Pinewood Bus Notes written to them by suddenly far away friends. They embrace one another on top of soft grass, and kiss one another hidden away behind park slides and benches. They steal kisses behind the local Ice Cream Parlor and dream of one day stealing more. They hold hands at the Ice Skating rink, and they talk endlessly about how McKinley will be _better_…for the both of them. Rachel, no longer alone – and Quinn on the Cheerios, finally able to protect her. They never voice it out loud, but Quinn knows that Rachel dreams of forever, because Quinn does too.

But then Frannie is _gone_. And all that is left is a quiet shell – a blonde shadow living alone in a house with two parents who don't care. And not even Rachel is a consolation. Their kisses turn into light touches, and their smiles devolve into hollow reminders of what they used to be. And by the time the first day of school rolls around, Quinn hasn't talked to anyone in at least five days. She doesn't go to Cheerio tryouts and she comes home only to wallow in her room around the poems of Edgar Alan Poe. She's haunting even herself – And so as the blonde walks the buzzing hallways – she wonders what went wrong?

She spots Rachel at a locker – dark hair, dark eyes, plaid skirt and a simple blouse – she would smile, but something about this place has taken the ability away from her. And so instead she waves, a barely there thing without the enthusiasm that she knows Rachel deserves. Rachel smiles back – beaming – all beautiful teeth and knowing, sad eyes – and Quinn almost wants to cry. She doesn't deserve a friend like her. And just as the blonde has the courage to smile back, there is the weight of a body coming up behind her. She turns her head and sees Santana – the darker haired brunette smirks coldly as she passes, a large cup in her hand. And before Quinn can understand what is happening, she hears it. The sound of ice reverberating off of warm metal, the sudden intake of air and the shuddering of a gasp.

"Rachel." Quinn whispers. Her hazel eyes scan upwards, and there she is, covered in red dye number 5 and ice and corn syrup. The slushie creeps down and into her full eyes. Quinn watches it as it trickles down her collar between her breasts, it slides down her legs and puddles around her wet shoes.

"This is my first day." Rachel mutters, her bottom lips trembling. And as time speeds up, Quinn can hear Santana laughing. The entire hallway is laughing, pointing at the dripping girl with a mixture of amusement and pity.

"Welcome to McKinley. That one's for _existing_, Berry." Santana spits. And then Quinn is turning on her heel. Her hair falls over her shoulders, pinned up with a clip to keep her growing bangs out of her face. She has on a pair of colorful jeans and a blouse, her cardigan and waist belt accentuating perfectly. She looks so calm and _feminine_; her knuckles even crack with grace as she pulls her fingers taught. It's only Rachel and Santana who recognize the storm brewing beneath the polished surface. Rachel has the mind to reach out a sticky hand, but Quinn moves out of reach, her shoulders set as she rounds on Santana – face showing nothing but indifference. To any one else – Quinn Fabray is not a threat.

"Do it again." Quinn whispers. Voice low, her breath coming through her nose in rapid pants.

"Oh, I didn't know you were so fond of the color red Q, matter of fact…that could easily be arranged." Santana flashes a toothy grin, but her eyes shift as Quinn's feet move closer. The crowd grows exponentially and whispers echo from mouth to mouth like a wave as the electricity within the hallway triples.

"I said…I dare you to do it _again_." And just like that another one of Santana's friends—Jodie Signet, the failed Cheerio from their eighth grade graduating class at Harrison— is handing over another full cup. Santana takes it, her fingers squeezing tightly against the cold plastic as she squares her shoulders, mouth set in a hard line. If Quinn were anyone else she'd be intimidated by the cold stare, but she knows things about Santana Lopez that the darker haired girl would never care to admit. And so Quinn eyes a cowering Brittany in the far corner, and Santana follows the flicker of a gaze. And with that simple distraction, she steps forward with such speed, that hardly anyone sees her move. And then she's grabbing the Big Gulp, right out of Santana Lopez' hands. All too suddenly…the tables have turned. Quinn tilts the cup just out of Santana's reach, she holds it precariously above the darker girls head, her lips pulled back in a beautiful sneer.

"Pull something like that again, Lopez? And I won't be so nice." Jodie Signet snickers at the threat from over Santana's right shoulder – Quinn has the sudden urge to punch her.

"Don't act like you own this school, Fabray. Ever since your little stint at Harrison you think you're the shit. But I don't see you in a Cheerio uniform and you for damn sure aren't the Head captain. You're just A. Fucking. Freshman." And suddenly Quinn is propelling herself past Santana and pushing the shorter blonde up against a cold locker. Her left hand pins the girl by her shoulder and Jodie Signet grimaces as the back of her head collides none too softly with an empty lock. Quinn looks down at the Big Gulp in her other hand, and before batting an eyelash she watches with cold eyes as the liquid comes pouring down, tangling itself between the tendrils of Jodie Signet's blonde hair.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again, Signet…" Quinn seethes. From over one of her shoulders she can see a raised eyebrow and an enthused grin. Santana Lopez stands with her arms crossed over her chest, evil smile playing on her lips as she stares smugly at the scene. And just as Quinn is about to round on her, the sound of a large body coming through the crowd and parting it like the red sea commands her attention. She turns, eyes looking just over Santana's head, and there is Sue Sylvester – eyes hard and calculating, a whistle tied around her thick neck.

"Fabray." Quinn backs away from Jodie, her eyes finally calming. The blonde girl scrambles away whilst Rachel cowers a few steps away, her clothes and chin still drip with red sticky slushie.

"Coach Sylvester." Quinn sighs.

"Lopez."

"Coach."

The taller woman scans the circle of students, her eyes settle on Rachel Berry, trembling and disgustingly _red_ – Sue scowls in disgust.

"I assume that you carried out what I asked of you L." Sue is addressing Santana but her eyes remain trained on Quinn. The dark brunette nods, smug grin still in place. Quinn stares between the two of them, eyes wide and searching as a flurry of accusations struggle to fall from between her lips.

"You…what?" Is all that Quinn manages before Sue takes a step forward.

"You, vermin…leave." Sylverster mutters as she motions to Jodie. They all watch as the girl scurries away, her shoes squeaking as red slushie runs down her jeans and blouse.

"The rest of you, disperse!" Sue suddenly yells, and then the mass of students part, deserting the hallway in one quick motion. Rachel and Santana move with them but then Sue is pointing at the two of them with a finger, shaking her head and rooting them to the spot. The three remaining girls stare between one another with a mixture of smug, terrified, and confused eyes as the last door of the hallway slams to a close, leaving them in complete silence.

"You must all be wondering what it is that has compelled me to grace you with my presence. I _hate_ freshman…and you three are no exception." Quinn swallows thickly, the taste is bitter in her mouth.

"That girl…the one standing just in between Unkown-Girl-Of-Jewish-Origin of whom I do not care to address for fear of being turned to stone, and Estefan." Both girls turn to look at Quinn with a mixture of offense and curiosity. "Is the reason why this entire tirade had to have taken place. You see…It is my intention that when I select a greasy pre-teen for my Pre-Cheerio squad – I expect for that girl or boy to then try out for my National Squad. So tell me…Quinn, why would said girl then not show up to Cheerio tryouts yesterday afternoon?" Quinn's eybrows furrow, she looks over at Rachel with worried hazel eyes.

"Estefan was there." Sue yells, an accusing finger pointing over at Santana, the darker haired girl flinches involuntarily. "Signet was there, she's worthless obviously, and has no chance in hell of ever making squad, but the Neanderthal showed up! Which is more than what I can say….._for you_."

"So I digress. It was me who put Estefan up to the task of Big Gulping your little friend over here. It didn't take long for me to get it out of Salma Hayek that the Medusa over there is the reason why my best Pre-Squader didn't make it to tryouts yesterday."

"You had Santana _slushie_ Rachel just because I didn't go to your stupid tryouts?" Quinn yells. Her voice pierces the air around them and Santana almost recoils. Sue smiles, her teeth devilishly white as she takes a step forward, her eyes piercing.

"Oh no…I had Santana slushie you because I wanted to see what kind of a rise I could get out of you…quiet, demure, hard- working Quinn Fabray. You've got fire behind those eyes…_Head Cheerio fire_."

"Head Cheerio?" All three girls mutter, dumbfounded. Santana almost looks scandalized, her eyes cutting over to glare daggers at the blonde.

"My Co-Captain from last year McKenzie Ellis was sent to rehab, and as you know Francesca Fabray is no longer with us (_damn Princeton_). I no longer have a Head Cheerio, and no one else on my squad or otherwise fit the bill except for you Blondie. You showed me today just how ruthless you could be if provoked." Quinn's jaw drops, she looks over at Rachel with wide eyes, and the brunette simply stares back – there's hope beneath that familiar brown gaze, but then Rachel is looking away, biting away at her lip and worrying her hands in the hem of her blouse.

"But she's a fucking freshman…this is fucking stupid." Santana gripes. Sue is frowning now, her eyes staring between Quinn and the Neanderthal.

"You." Sue nods in Rachel's direction.

"If you even remotely looked to have at least one athletic bone in your body I would have maybe assigned you to the role of water caddy, but seeing as you probably couldn't even do that, my need for you here is done. Leave." Sue barks. Rachel nods her head, scurrying away down the empty hallway. Quinn has the mind to stop her, to pull her back and hug her, but by the time she blinks her eyes Rachel is gone.

"And you." Sue looks at Quinn.

"You have 24 hours." And just like that Sue is gone, disappearing down a staircase. Santana and Quinn are left, staring at everything but one another. After a few moments of silence Brittany appears from around a corner. Her feet skipping as she approaches. One of her pinkies interlocks with one of Santana's as the blue eyed blonde smiles happily at Quinn.

"Hi Quinn." Quinn nods, grimacing. She glances down the hallway, her eyes still hoping to catch a glimpse of Rachel.

"Have you been eavesdropping this whole time?" Santana whispers around a smile. The blonde nods.

"I couldn't remember my locker combination and so I just played Doodle Jump on my phone while you guys were talking. " Santana nods, and starts whispering into Brittany's ear. They both giggle while Quinn stands frozen, her hands wrapping around the strap of her backpack that she had forgotten and let fall down to the linoleum floor.

"I...I should go." Quinn mumbles. Brittany and Santana are too engrossed in one another to care, and with a disinterested wave from B, Quinn disappears down the nearest hallway.

- {||||||||} -

It's with calloused palms and tired arms that Quinn manages to climb the trellis scaling Rachel Berry's house. It's her luck that the window is cracked, and with a grunt and push up, Quinn pulls her body upward and through the pane. She falls down to the carpet below with a sigh, and when she looks up – she's left staring at a bright and empty room. She walks around the familiar desk and kicks off her shoes, settling herself in the center of the bed, her legs criss crossed and her chin in her hands. It takes five minutes – and then the doorknob is twisting and a pajama clad Rachel Berry is walking into the room, "goodnights" on her tongue as Quinn assumes she bids her father's a happy sleep. When the brunette turns, she shrieks – her eyes wide – and suddenly – completely indifferent. Quinn watches curiously as Rachel walks around her room readying herself for bed as if the blonde isn't even there. Quinn's shoulders bristle and she bites her bottom lip, her eyes downcast.

"I wanted to say hello." Quinn whispers.

"Hello." Rachel responds. The brunette reaches over Quinn's shoulder to remove the throw pillows from the head of the bed.

"And – to talk. I wanted to talk."

"Oh…so you want to talk now?" The words are said with a biting sarcasm dripping from just below the surface and Quinn flinches, blowing out a breath of air.

"I've missed you." Quinn whispers, her eyes full and her lips red from holding them between her teeth. Rachel stops pulling pillows off of her bed to stare at Quinn – those brown eyes are angry yes…but they're also full of so much more.

"You can't just say that Quinn, not after you ignore for me for almost a week. You ignore me before the biggest day of my life thus far – you know how much I've needed a friend. You of all people should have known better." Those same brown eyes are glossy as Rachel turns around and starts fussing with her hairbrush, pulling it through her hair with short, heavy strokes.

"It's just High School, I thought – you're. I thought you'd be fine."

"Obviously I was not! Granted I was slushied in an all too bizarre attempt to get you to join the Cheerios. But that doesn't change the fact that I've been humiliated all day. If it wasn't the slushie, it was the spitballs in third period Algebra 1, or it was the snickering in the second floor bathroom just before seventh. I ate alone in the Auditorium today because there was no one at the cafeteria willing enough to eat with me. And you're upset? Please, Quinn…spare me." Quinn gulps, she brushes her hair away from her face nervously as Rachel paces in front of her, eyes glossy and red and words angry and accusing.

"And you had some nerve waving to me in the hallway after ignoring me ALL day. If it weren't for my weakness for you in general I would never have smiled in return. I am that upset with you Quinn Fabray. This friendship or relationship or whatever it is doesn't work if I'm the only one who _cares_!"

"I care." Quinn whispers. The tears that have been threatening to spill ever since Frannie left boil just below the surface, and the blonde sniffles to try to keep them away.

"Then show it!" Rachel yells. She drops her brush to the floor with a soft grunt, before walking towards the bed and almost falling down over the sheets. She crawls for Quinn and clutches to her with warm hands, her eyes shut tight as she lets her nose nestle into the crook of the blonde's neck.

"Stop being stupid." Quinn sniffles and manages a watery nod. She lets her arms encircle Rachel's body as they pull one another close.

"Can I stay?" Quinn whispers. And then Rachel is sitting up so that she can reach over to the wall and hit the light switch. When she settles back on the bed, she pulls back the comforter and sheets and she watches with quiet eyes as Quinn shimmies out of her pants and socks and cardigan, all that's left is a blouse and Wednesday panties as the blonde crawls underneath the bedding. They immediately find one another, arms encircling warm bodies as blonde and brunette hair fans out against the white of the pillows.

"Just…promise not to steal all the blankets." Rachel whispers, her nose in the crook of Quinn's neck again.

"Promise."

- {||||||||} -

They don't fall asleep. They flitter in and out of consciousness, arms wrapped around one another as their voices whisper in the dark.

"Are you gonna do it?" Rachel asks. She's shimmied out of her pajama bottoms throughout the course of the night, and now their legs intertwine, pale and tan connected like a French braid beneath the covers.

"Do what?" Quinn mumbles around a yawn.

"Head Cheerio." Rachel mumbles.

"Maybe." Quinn yawns, her hazel eyes drooping. Rachel squeezes her closer, and presses a lingering kiss to the blonde's parted lips – she lets herself revel in the moment –Somehow sure that if Quinn Fabray becomes a Cheerio…that there'll be less and less of the two of them.

Rachel Berry chooses not to think about it.

It hurts entirely too much.

"'Night 'Licious." Quinn mumbles.

"Goodnight Q-Fab." Rachel whispers.


End file.
